Mutual Benefit
by horrorphile
Summary: This story opens Season Three of TWD after Michonne leaves Woodbury. Michonne and Merle team up to find Daryl so that he can help them rescue Andrea from Woodbury. This is not a romantic love story between Merle and Michonne. I am a Caryl fan and that is always the end game. The M rating is because of Merle's potty mouth and its a Caryl fan fiction story.
1. Chapter 1

**I loved Merle is all of his awfulness and wanted to revive him for this story. I loved the scenes between Merle and Michonne in "This Sorrowful Life" and really didn't want Merle to die. He is alive and kicking in this story. He is tamer than the tv version but he still loves Dary and will risk anything to reunite with him. Michonne wanted to rescue Andrea from Woodbury and wants Merle to help her. **

**Disclaimer: The Walking Dead owns the characters and storylines of TWD. I own nothing. I make nothing from this. **

The Odd Couple

Michonne stood in the Georgia woods and watched Merle ruthlessly shoot the young man with him. The kid wanted to keep hunting her and Merle wanted to tell the Governor that she was dead. Why did Merle want the Governor to think that she was dead?

Merle stood over the dead boy and knew that he had just added one more name to a list that just kept on growing. He would bet his remaining hand that Michonne was close by and he saw a chance to get the hell out of Woodbury and find Daryl. He raised his raspy voice to as high as he could, "I know you are out there, Michonne. I have a proposition for you for our mutual benefit. I'll put my guns down and walk away from them. Come on out here. If I wanted you dead, then me and Garigulio would have started to hunt you".

Michonne's first instinct was to run. She could take off and ignore this powwow but her chances of getting away from him if he really wanted to track her weren't really all that good. She moved out into the clearing enough so that she could be seen by Merle. She didn't trust this racist bastard but Andrea was still at Woodbury. Andrea had not sensed the undertone of evil in the Governor that lurked behind his façade of civility. He would never let Andrea leave on her own and someday Michonne was going to get her out of there.

Merle grinned when he saw Michonne. He was burning bridges behind him here, but he had a sense that this was going to work. "Let's get the deal done, my Nubian queen. I don't want to hold hands and sing Kumbaya. I want to find Daryl and I want to get away from the Governor. The Governor is going to send a whole bunch of assholes after both of us if I don't come back. I need you too; he'll kill me when he finds out that I didn't bring your dreadlocked head back to him."

Michonne trusted Merle about as much as she would have sack full of rattlesnakes. "Why would I trust you? You could kill me and take my head back to the Governor."

Merle's voice lowered a bit, "I killed this kid because he wanted to keep on after you. I am not going back to Woodbury so you can either join me and have a better chance of getting away or you can go one your own. Woodbury is at my back. I am picking up everything I can use from the dead and getting the hell out of here. Make your choice, Michonne".

Michonne considered her options while Merle gathered supplies. "Don't be thinking this partnership comes with any fringe benefits".

Merle started laughing. "Not every white man is a rapist. None of my arrests were ever for sexual assaults. My vice was drugs and the only good thing that the Governor did for me was drying me out from the sweet taste of oblivion. So get your fine dark ass in gear and we will be on our way. Woodbury was full of women willing to please the Governor's henchmen. Your virtue is safe with me. I'll just think of you as my little sister".

Michonne frowned, "I am walking behind you. I don't trust you at my back".

"Enough negotiations. You lawyers talk everything to death. Let's get moving". Merle headed off to the left and Michonne followed him with her katana still unsheathed. They pushed through for two hours before Merle called a halt. They sat down on opposite sides of a clearing and had a drink from their canteens.

Merle knew that she had been wounded. "I have a first aid kit in my gear. I can give it to you and you can clean and bandage your wound or you can trust me to do it. There is no going back for me, and you are going to hold me up if that gets infected".

"Okay, you do it. I hate to look at blood." Michonne had an aversion to blood and needles. Infection would kill her more slowly than the Governor but just as surely.

Merle grabbed the first aid kit that he always carried. It was compact but well stocked. "Raise up your shirt and I won't faint if I see blood or your tit." She growled at him and he grinned at her. "Lie down so I can get this cleaned up," he growled. His hands were surprisingly quick and gentle. He cleaned the wound and applied some medicine that he had on it. Merle put on a bandage and held it on with duct tape.

"I am going to give you an injection Little Sister," Merle teased. He handed her a lollipop and then slid down her pants. He wiped an area of her ass with an alcohol pad and gave her a quick injection of antibiotics. "I only have some over the counter pain meds, do you want a couple?" She nodded and he handed her two pills and she swallowed them with some water. He handed her some beef jerky and they ate sitting side by side.

"So where did you get your medical skills?" Michonne asked. Merle had cleaned her wound, put a bandage on, and had given her an injection quickly and efficiently with one hand and his teeth.

He shrugged, "When I was eighteen and too old for juvie I was strongly advised to join the army. It was either that or doing some time in jail. I learned a whole lot about how to hurt people and a little about how to heal them. Can you walk?"

Michonne wanted to lie down and stay down but she knew it was keep on keeping on time. "I can walk if I can get up". Both of them got up clumsily and started back through the woods. Soon, they came to a small cabin with a shed beside it. Merle moved to the shed and Michonne checked out the cabin.

Merle had scouted out here before and knew that there was a four-wheeler in the shed. He was relieved that it was still there. The gasoline was there too. Michonne came in the shed with a sack of provisions. "Michonne, have you ever ridden a four-wheeler?"

She shook her head, "No, but it sounds better than walking. Can you get this thing started?"

"Little Sister, this baby is gonna purr for ole Merle. Looks like your day to try new things." Merle motioned for her to hold a wrench tight while he moved something around on the motor. Michonne realized that even Merle would have problems being a one handed mechanic. After some help from her part and some of the most creative cursing from Merle that she had ever experienced the vehicle fired up.

Merle backed it out of the shed and motioned for Michonne to hop on behind him. She grabbed her sack of supplies and tied it on the back. Merle drove cautiously at first. Michonne guessed that he was getting adjusted to driving with one hand. She could see an occasional walker in the woods but the road seemed reasonably clear. Merle opened the machine up on long clear stretches and Michonne found herself feeling a burst of exhilaration. They were putting distance between them and Woodbury on this ride. Merle might be an unrepentant racist redneck but he had gotten this machine moving. She was still alive and she would find a way to get Andrea out of there.

Merle leaned his head back and howled. He was feeling better right now than he had since he lost his hand and Daryl. He wasn't going to get his hand back but at least he had a chance to find his brother. He couldn't undo what he had done as the Governor's henchman, but he was riding a four wheeler down a road in Georgia in the spring. Even the air smelled better out here, all earth and pine. He didn't mind having the ninja along for the ride. She was as tough as he was and probably tougher than Daryl. If they had had a sister she would probably be just like Michonne and would have to be to survive growing up in the Dixon home.

Michonne felt the wind in her face and she held on tight. Merle yelled, "I know this road now and I am going to take a short cut". He slowed down and veered off the road and they headed across a field and onto a dirt road that ran parallel to the road that they were on. There were a couple of walkers in their way and when Merle stopped she hopped out and dispatched them. He nodded his approval and Michonne was annoyed with herself for being pleased by that.

They traveled for the rest of the afternoon along quiet roads. Michonne had a good sense of direction and could tell that they had been traveling northwest. A few times they had to stop and moved branches or take out walkers. Late in the day they found a place they both agreed with, a farmhouse out of sight of paved roads.

Merle hid the four-wheeler inside the barn but parked it where they could exit out of the back of the building. Together they cleared the farmhouse of the family within. They scavenged food and Merle looked over their vehicles. Michonne let him handle that; she really wasn't all that good with machines.

She did find a camp stove in their shed and a couple of canisters of fuel. She heated up some food and they ate sitting on rockers on the porch. They drank water from the well and talked about their plans.

Merle finished his food and stood up and looked around the place. "I think we are far enough away from Woodbury. You can go your merry way if you want to now, but I want to find Daryl and I figured Andrea told you all about his group . I need to find him. He's the only person in this world that I care about."

Michonne put her plate down and thought for a minute. "I want to get Andrea out of there. She had my back a few times last winter. I owe her. I need your help. I'll help you find Daryl if you will help me get Andrea out of Woodbury". S

"We can't do it by ourselves, Sissy. You are a ninja, but a single bullet can bring you down. I am tough as nails but I only have one arm. We need Daryl to get it done. I can get us in because I left a back door way in that no one knows about but we'll need some help getting out." Merle kicked the porch bannister; he hated admitting that he wasn't the warrior that he had been. Going back to get Andrea was a damn fool thing for him to do but he hated the Governor for turning him into a murderer. Saving Andrea might erase some of the stains on his soul. "What do you know about the group"

Michonne thought for a bit, "They were all living at a big farm when a herd came in and she got separated from them. Two sheriff deputies were in charge, Rick and Shane. Rick's wife had an affair with Shane because she thought Rick was dead so that was a mess. One of the children got lost in the woods and Daryl searched for her for days.

Merle interrupted, "Was it Sophia?"

"Yes, the little girl was named Sophia and Carol was her mother's name". She was impressed that he would remember the names of the people in the group.

"Where was Sophia's father?" Merle hated that fat fucker. "He liked to slap his wife around and I was planning for him to take a long walk in the woods and never find his way back to the camp. Daryl hated him too and I can tell he was itching to protect the wife".

"Andrea said that he was killed in the attack that killed her sister. They lost several people in that one. They broke camp after that, tried the CDC and that didn't work out, and then they were on the road when Sophia got lost. They stopped at the farm because the little boy was accidentally shot. Andrea said that Daryl and Carol had some sort of connection."

Merle pulled a map from his pack and they traced the route from Atlanta to the highway close to the farm. "Do you think they would have gone back to the farm for the winter?" Daryl having a connection to Carol probably meant that he was still with the group. He hoped the boy was at least getting laid.

Michonne shook her head, "We wandered around that area and never saw them. A good size herd came through there and I think they just started looking for a new place".

"Let's go there anyway and check. It's not all that far from here. We could start there. They'll stay away from towns and cities because there would be too many walkers". Merle wanted to see where that misbegotten group had gone after the quarry. He knew right off that hanging around with them was a death sentence. Daryl was trying to feed and protect them already. He told Daryl that they were going to rob the camp and take off. He knew Daryl like the back of his only hand. Daryl would get his panties all bunched up about robbing them that when Merle said, "Fuck it, let's just get out of here" that Daryl would grab their tent and they would get the fuck out of Dodge. Daryl was just too easy to manipulate sometimes.

Michonne took first watch while Merle slept. They had brought some blankets out from the house and put them in the hay loft. It was quiet out here and she had time to think about this strange alliance formed between her and Merle. She needed him because she couldn't rescue Andrea by herself. He knew every nook and cranny in Woodbury. He needed her to help find Daryl. He called her "Sissy and Little Sister" and he behaved like a know it all big brother most of the time. Michonne faced an unsettling truth; she didn't want to be out here by herself.

Merle woke up for watch before her time was up, but he assured her that he never slept too much anyway. Michonne fell asleep and didn't wake up until Merle woke her up. "Rise and shine, Sissy. We are going to go look for Bubby this morning". Dear God, she thought to herself, "I am in redneck hell and Merle is my brother".

So tell what you think. Is this story worth pursuing? It will have Carol and Daryl eventually. So give and honest but delightfully complimentary review please. Just kidding. I would appreciate your feedback.

I started this on Valentine's Day and it really is a love story. Merle loves Daryl and Michonne loves Andrea.


	2. Reluctant Allies

**Merle and Michonne have teamed up because as much as they would hate to admit it; they need each other. Merle wants to find Daryl and he is resourceful but he only has one hand. I also think that Merle doesn't like to be by himself. He likes to talk too much for a life of solitude. Michonne can't rescue Andrea by herself and I think that even our resident ninja doesn't want to wander the zombie wasteland all by her lonesome any more. So, for now they are …**

**Reluctant Allies**

Michonne drove their new old truck and Merle navigated and talked. Merle was one of those annoying people who woke up in a good mood and let those around him know it. He was calling her "Sissy" again this morning and asking too many questions. She gave him her enigmatic look but Merle was too busy hanging his head out the window and yelling insults at the walkers. It was like traveling with a sixteen year old with no impulse control.

They had found the traffic snarl that had stopped Andrea's group. Merle walked around the site. He knew from Andrea's stories to Michonne that Sophia had been lost here and Daryl had begun the hunt for her. The farm had to be close. He decided that they would drive around the area looking for a mailbox with "Greene" written on it. Merle was feeling good though. He was out of Woodbury and on the hunt for Daryl. He was having a damn good time pushing Michonne's buttons today too. She would love to set him out beside the road like an unwanted dog but she needed him. Merle chose not to think that he needed her too.

Michonne wasn't surprised when they found the mailbox leaning a bit in the weeds that were taking over rural Georgia. Merle flipped from ebullient teenager to cautious soldier in a moment. He checked his arm bayonet and his pistol and rolled the window up. Michonne had her katana on the seat beside her and she drove more slowly and kept checking the road behind her for walkers.

The road eventually opened up to open fields and pastures. The large white farmhouse stood on a little rise like a jewel in the crown. There were a few walkers wandering around but nothing that they couldn't handle.

Michonne parked the truck on the road in front of the house. Merle hopped out on his side and casually took down a curious walker. They walked around the grounds of the farm. One barn had burned completely but there were two others on the property. There were wells though one was obviously polluted.

Together they cleaned out the house. It looked as if everyone must have been living in the house when the herd came in. They went through their things and Merle grabbed Daryl's backpack and loaded it in the truck. Michonne loaded Andrea's but was surprised when Merle grabbed one that belonged to the woman who had lost her daughter. Merle looked at Michonne, "If Daryl is protecting her then she might still be alive." He stood still for a moment and Michonne could see that he was thinking about the people at the quarry with him. "She was always working, always taking care of everybody, and she loved that little girl. There are some photographs of Sophia in there and none of Ed."

The house had not been scavenged, and they collected some food. Michonne and Merle ate a midday meal on the front porch while they watched the walkers roam around the fields. "Why did they never come back?" Michonne wondered. Merle could be a good listener when he wanted.

"Because it hurt too much to lose it the first time, I reckon," Merle replied. He and Michonne had driven around the property and he had been impressed with the geographic features that formed natural barriers. "Dumb asses, to let their emotions keep them from a place that they could have defended. Strong walls around house and gardens. Fences along the part that opens up to the swamp. They could have come back and made a stand here, but they are wandering around like Moses in the wilderness looking for a promised land and they already had it".

Michonne sighed, "Merle, where do we go to look for Daryl? He isn't here and hasn't been since last fall. That was seven months ago. They could be anywhere by now." It was understood and unsaid that she was saying that they could all be dead.

Merle rubbed his short hair and his face. He wasn't giving up and she wasn't going to either, "Let's look at the map again. Little Sister". Merle picked took his knife and cut a circle around the farmhouse site. They are from Georgia and they'll avoid big town and cities. What do you think, Michonne"?

Michonne looked at the map and began to think out loud. "They will stick together. They have a pregnant woman with them so they'll be looking for a safe place with strong walls already in place. I don't think they will join another group because they won't trust anyone else. Rick will be the man in charge and he had been a deputy sheriff. He will want a place that represented security for him… like a jail or a prison… someplace where people who got locked in couldn't get out easily. If they couldn't get out then maybe it would keep walkers out."

It all made sense to both of them. Merle looked at the map again. It might be a regional jail or a small correctional facility. If it was too big then there would be too many walkers to clear. He looked at the map and suddenly remembered the old prison that the Governor had him to check out. Merle had looked the place over and there were a shitload of walkers in and around the prison. The back of the place was open and more could pour in at any time. He had reported back to the Governor that the place could not be taken. Merle had spent too much of his life in prisons to risk his life to take it for no good reason. The Governor had accepted his recommendation without any more questions.

Michonne looked at Merle. "What is it? Did you think of a place?"

Merle pointed to the location of the prison. "There is an old prison that the state of Georgia was using when the world went to shit. It's less than twenty miles from Woodbury though". He went ahead to tell her about what he had found at the prison.

They decided to stay the night at the farm. They left the house and cleaned out a horse stable. Merle went hunting and Michonne had some time to herself. Checking out the prison was scary because it would bring her closer to Woodbury and she knew that the Governor would be sending out patrols to look for her and Merle. Michonne still wanted to laugh at the thought that she was now an ally of Merle. It must be some enemy of my enemy is my friend scenario.

Dinner was canned vegetables and grilled rabbit. Merle had been surprised at how little she knew about setting snares and traps and hunting small game. After they ate he took her into the woods and fields of the farm and showed her how to set a simple snare. He was silent in the woods and the hyper teenager of the morning was completely gone. He was a good teacher though and Michonne recognized that he had skills that she did not. She and Andrea had survived by scavenging out of cars and houses.

That evening they sat side by side in the open loft of the stable and talked in low voices. "We need to check everything out from this place to that prison. Then we can start there and work our way back here. We keep doing that until we have checked out this circle," Michonne said. She knew that Merle wasn't going to give up on finding Daryl. She wouldn't stand a chance getting Andrea out on her own so she was going to have to stay with the search. Besides she knew that Andrea wasn't ready to leave Woodbury yet.

Merle was enjoying the evening and he was ready to razz Michonne a little. "How did you and Blondie survive all winter without knowing how to hunt? Can't live on looove you know". He stretched out the o in love to particularly annoy her.

Michonne sighed, the Good Merle had disappeared and the Mean Merle was back. "We survived on canned food more than love. As soon as you teach me how to hunt better maybe we can live on love and squirrel". Merle laughed at that but promised to take her hunting the next morning. She knew that Merle enjoyed his lesbian fantasies about her and Andrea. Michonne had lost her boyfriend and her son when all this hit and she and Andrea were just friends.

She got him talking about Daryl and he talked for a long time about his little brother. According to Merle the boy (he must be over 40 and still called a boy) was too good for his own good. "My brother is a pussy. He'll be working his ass off to keep the others alive and they'll just be thinking he's redneck trash."

Michonne said, "Maybe he is with Carol and she doesn't sound like a woman who would think he's redneck trash. Maybe they are somewhere living on love and squirrel." Andrea had talked about Carol and Daryl being so close but no one in the camp really knew what was going on between them. Andrea had really liked Carol but had been afraid that she might have been killed that night at the farm.

"The squirrel part sounds like Daryl, but he's backward when it comes to women. Carol had a good rack and a fine ass and Daryl was sniffing after her at the quarry. The boy thinks too much. If he would just do what comes natural then he would be ass deep in horny women. My father treated our mother like shit and that messed with Daryl's head." Merle face twisted a bit and Michonne knew that he had said more than he meant to.

Merle nudged her shoulder. "Little Sister, I trust you enough to watch while I go to sleep. Then I'll watch while you sleep. We'll go hunting tomorrow morning and get breakfast." He went back into the loft and rolled himself into his blanket.

Michonne looked at the farm. Andrea had told her that they had felt safe until the herd came and ran them out. It was quiet out there now. She thought about her son. Michonne had thought about him when Merle was teaching her how to set snares. She had wished that her boy had been beside her learning how to survive. It was going to be a bad night for sleep; she should just stay up all night and let Merle sleep.

Merle woke up and took over watch. Michonne surprised herself by falling asleep quickly and she was fast asleep when Merle shook her awake. "Rise and shine, Sissy. Let's go hunting."

Michonne complained because it was still dark, but she rolled over and got up quickly. Soon, they were headed into the woods and Merle showed her how to hunt squirrels. He also pointed out edible plants as they moved along. He told her that he wasn't using a gun this close to their camp because a shot would ring the dinner bell for walkers. They went to the snares that they had set yesterday and found a couple of rabbits.

Together they cooked breakfast. Michonne complimented Merle on his cooking, "Either had to learn how to cook or starve to death when I was a boy. My mother spent her days half drunk. So when I was home I cooked for me and Daryl. I needed a little sister who could cook for me."

Michonne had just laughed at him when he said that and she realized that she was completely comfortable with Merle. He treated her like a sister; he had kept his racist rants to himself. He was teaching her valuable skills and she really didn't want to be out here by herself.

Merle was caught by how her face changed when she smiled. They were playing well together and he found her good company. Together they could find Daryl and then they would sneak into Woodbury and rescue Blondie. It was weird how he didn't see her as a desirable woman. He usually thought all women were worthy of his sexual interest but he really did think of her as a sister, a fellow warrior, and a teammate. He hoped he wasn't going through some sort of male menopause and start being a complete pussy that wore sweaters and shit like that.

**Merle behaving himself is a complete switch but that is the joy of writing fan fiction. You get to twist your characters around to please yourself.**

**The next chapter is going to be a prison chapter. So we are going to drop in and check on Daryl and Carol. Might be some love and squirrel happening. Let's hope tonight's episode is a good one.**

**Please let me know how you like this story. Reviews are in order.**


	3. Bring Carol Back

**So where are Carol and Daryl? Carol escaped walkers in the tombs and got trapped in a closet. Daryl has been looking soulful while he deals with everybody else. Now it is time for him to into the tombs and …..**

Bring Carol Back

It wasn't dark in the closet anymore. She wasn't alone in there either. It had been dark and lonely and Carol had thought that if she yelled loud enough and beat on the door hard enough somebody would come and open the door. Daryl would find her. He would keep looking on down those halls until he heard her and then he would open the door and say, "I'll save you, Carol".

Then, as hour after hour passed she had come to know that he wasn't coming. Daryl had found something else more important than looking for her. Her throat was so dry and she was so tired and no one was looking for her. She couldn't push the door open and she was well and truly done for.

She had fallen asleep and when Carol woke up she wasn't alone any more. Sophia was sitting on the floor beside her. "Get up, Mommy. You need to keep fighting".

Carol turned her head, "Oh, Sophia. I can't fight any more. It's time for me to quit fighting and give in. You look so beautiful, but so different." Sophia wasn't a little girl anymore. At least, she didn't stay little. Carol saw her as a baby, a little girl, a young woman, a middle-aged woman, and as an old woman. She was a shimmering mass of Sophia and incredibly lovely in all her forms.

The being who had been Sophia Peletier and who was now something else smiled, "Of course, I am. I am the being I was created to be. You see me as Sophia because that is who I was here. I love you, love is eternal, and I am here to stay beside you until you decide what you are going to do. I know how you hate the dark and being closed in, but you won't be alone this time. For a little while I am here".

Carol whispered, "If I give up, do I get to go with you?"

Sophia eternal eyes were sad, "Yes, it will be just you and me until we get to the bridge. Then, we'll be met by others and cross the bridge with them. But you have things to accomplish in this life and if you aren't there, well that changes things for other people. You are needed here. You should fight for your life."

"Why does God hate us?" Carol asked the question that had plagued her since the beginning. Where was a loving God in this hellish world?

Sophia said, "Hate you? Do you have any idea of how many have been added to our numbers? There is nothing of the Creator in what happened. The Creator allows free will and terrible things happen that we can't understand. There is a remnant left. The world can come back." Her voice softened, "If you decide to fight you will live. You can go take a walk and look at the Creation. Take a walk in the night and look at the stars. The Earth is a beautiful place and your life can bring you fulfillment. You were created to bring joy to others as you did me. That is a gift that not everyone has."

"Maybe you aren't real. I am making you up. You are just a hallucination caused my fear and sensory deprivation. You are dead and buried at the farm and that is the end of that story. I can give up and find peace in the nothingness that is waiting for me, " Carol was tired of this New Age bull shit. She was stuck in a damn closet and nobody in this shit hole cared enough to go look for her.

Sophia was stern, "Put those thoughts away from you. Carol, you belong to the Creator."

Carol pushed the darkness away in her mind and looked at Sophia, "How do I find the strength to live? I have been weak and spineless my whole life. I hate how weak I am. I am afraid of everything."

"No, you aren't weak. You will have to be strong to survive in this world but you always were strong. I don't think you will be afraid of anything anymore." Sophia knew that it was time for Carol to decide.

Carol thought about those she loved that were left on this earth. They could survive without her but who would do the things that she was supposed to do? What would happen if no one did them? "I need to stay because Lori will need me when the baby comes. Beth and Maggie won't know how to tend a newborn. I'll have to help Herhel with the c-section. And Daryl needs me too."

Sophia was now the age she was when she died. "Daryl needs you more than you know. I'll be there when your time comes, but that will be many years from now. I'll meet you at the bridge and we'll go over together. You won't remember much about this and a lot more time has passed than you think."

Carol nodded; all she could think to do was hit the door and she began a slow ponderous pound. It was loud enough to be heard by Daryl who hesitated at the door. He was in torment thinking that Carol as a walker was on the other side of that door. He finally opened the door and found her alive inside. Carol attempted a smile at him and the light from the hallway shut out the light that was Sophia.

Daryl scooped her up and carried her back to the front of the prison. He and Hershel worked together to get her to drink water and to eat just a little. Daryl was close to her when she saw the baby for the first time and when she comforted Rick. Then he slipped away and left her.

Hershel found him outside later. "Now where did you run off to? Carol has been drinking water and eating. She is making a remarkable physical recovery, but I am worried about her psychological health. Lori's death has hit her hard and the trauma from being trapped down in the deep downs in the darkness for all this time?" Hershel shook his head and started back inside. It was slow going on his crutches and another thought came to mind and he stopped. Hershel dismissed it because he had never been a meddling busy body and wasn't going to start now. He started to go, but the thought came again and this time he was obedient. "She needs you to be there for her you know. You can run out here and hide all you want. I can't make you do anything. Life is precious and you've wasted enough of it." The old man turned and struggled his way back inside.

Daryl was glad to hear that Carol was eating and drinking. He had left her because he was falling apart. He wanted to tell all of them to leave her alone and let him take care of her. He had left because he knew he had failed to take care of her; he had done everything else by look for her. She should hate him. He hated himself. He had finally shaken off his fear of finding her as a walker and went to gather her body for burial. His fear had kept him from finding her before now. If she had died down there it would be on him.

Carol had eaten, drank water, and slept for hours. Beth was doing a good job with the baby and Carol talked with her about some things that they would do to keep Judith healthy. She kept looking for Daryl but he never showed back up.

At sunset she walked out to the yard. The western sky was ablaze with color and Carol took time to really appreciate how beautiful it was. The last year had been so horrific that she had turned herself away from anything but survival. Carol walked alone down to their grave yard. There were three newly dug graves and one had been for her. She had been dead to them and resurrected today. Carol sat down and made promises that she intended to keep. She vowed to Lori that she would always protect Carl and her new baby girl. Carol looked at the grave of TDog, a good man gone too soon. She had the strangest notion that Sophia had met him on a bridge and they walked toward shimmering lights and welcoming faces. Theodore Douglas was at rest; she knew that. He died as he had lived, in a state of grace. He had refused an easy death and instead opened up his arms and pulled the walkers toward him. He chose to die in agony so that she had a chance to live. She owed him something for that. Carol determined to not waste any more of her life regretting what she had or hadn't done in the past. She would enjoy her life and show that he had not suffered in vain.

Daryl watched Carol from the guard tower. She looked so small from here and yet she was his whole world. The old man was right; he had wasted enough time. Carol needed him to be her man. Her man should protect her, share his life with her, and be put her first. Could he do that?

Maggie and Glenn came up the stairs and told him that they were ready to take watch. Daryl smirked a little; those two just wanted to get back to doing what they liked to do on watch. He went on down the stairs and hesitated at the bottom. He could go on in to the prison or he could walk down and talk to Carol. He started down the overgrown field toward her.

Carol looked up and saw Daryl coming to check on her. She was looking at the third grave with its Cherokee Rose on it. That was him of course. It was something that only Daryl would do. She had the sudden realization that Daryl needed her. He didn't make friends all that easily and who else would care as much as she did about him?

Daryl looked at the grave with the dying flower on it. "This place is for the dead and you don't belong here". He held his hand out and helped her up. "So why don't we take a walk around our new home?" He didn't release her hand and they started around the perimeter of the fence.

"Can we stay out long enough to see the stars come out?" Carol didn't know why but she just wanted to see the night time sky and to enjoy the breeze that was cooking the earth down. "It's the cool of the day, you know".

Daryl squeezed her hand gently. "You have to tell me when you start getting tired ". They walked back to the prison and sat on a bench out front. Daryl put his arm around her and she leaned toward him and they waited together for the stars to come out".

**Daryl has the time to think about what he wants because Merle did not find Maggie and Glenn and take them back to the prison. Merle changed all sorts of things when he decided to talk to Michonne instead of trying to kill her. Maggie and Glenn are up in the tower doing what comes natural and the Governor does not that anyone is living in the prison for at least a little while.**

**You can choose to believe that Sophia was an otherworldly being sent to Carol by the Creator or not. You can choose to believe that Sophia was a hallucination brought about by traumatic events or sensory deprivation. Sophia would tell you that you have free will. **

**I hated that Carol being locked in a closet was invariably about Daryl's man pain so I wrote it to show what was going on in that closet. Later on Carol will tell Merle "I am not afraid of anything and where in the world did that come from?  
Carol and Daryl are not going to go back into the prison and do the wild thing. Or will they? The important thing is that Daryl chose to walk that long lonesome path down to her and hold out his hand and hold on. Isn't that enough for one chapter?**

**The next chapter is back to Merle and Michonne and for those of you who have read "I Ain't Nobody" Christie and Jesse. **

**Please write a review: I enjoy hearing from you. Cyberspace is almost as immense as the nighttime sky.**


	4. Unexpected Happens

**I hope that you all enjoyed the Caryl chapter. We leave the lovebird canoodling on the bench in front of the prison and go back to Merle and Michonne who are on a path that should take them to the prison today unless the ….**

Unexpected Happens

They soon fell into yesterday's pattern of travel. Michonne drove and Merle navigated. He was quieter this morning but Michonne was getting used to his mercurial nature. Any minute now some switch would flip and he would be doing something outrageous.

"Don't be thinking I want your sympathy, just because I was whining this morning about my mother being a drunk. Good ole Mom and Dad were just all fucked up from the get-go. Didn't bother me none, it bothered Daryl more 'cause he is a damn pussy who should have growed up in a nice house with perfect parents. I did what I did because I made the choice to stay fucked up just like them. Daryl made the choice to get a job and stay out of trouble". Merle hated whiny ass people who blamed what they did on somebody else.

Michonne had listened to the morning rant from Merle while dodging walkers and stalled cars at the highway, but she recognized two truths about Merle from all of that. He took responsibility for his own actions and he loved his brother. "So how long have you been clean and sober?"

"I was clean and sober for a year before this happened. Went to NA meetings twice a week and got a job working construction with Daryl. We were working twelve hours a day six days a week. Making good money and didn't have time to spend it. We were living in a shitty trailer and driving an old truck. We were saving our money to open our own business selling outdoor gear and hunting supplies with some items to attract the prepper in all of us. Another year of the grind and we would have enough to get started. Just another rags to riches story, from ex-con to entrepreneur."

Merle spit out the window at some particularly nasty looking walker. "First time in my life I had a plan to make my life better and this shit storm blows that all away. I jumped off the wagon and went next door to the neighborhood drug connection and stole his stash. Got high and Daryl and I wound up at a quarry. I was out of control up on some rooftop in Atlanta and I got handcuffed to a pipe. Andrea told you all about that I am sure."

Michonne nodded, "So you aren't using now?"

Merle laughed, "No, nothing like a Zombie Apocalypse to dry you out. Betty Ford has nothing on the being chased by dead people who want to tear you apart piece by piece. Enough of walking down Memory Lane, let's start looking for some gasoline. Get as much as we can and store some in those gas cans we found on the farm".

They weren't having much luck with finding gas on the road they were on and Michonne turned on to a gravel road that ran up and over a series of small hills. The road had narrowed and the pine trees seem to be pressing in. Michonne saw a small herd of walkers behind her, "Shit, I have to keep on going, Merle. Look behind us."

Merle glanced back, "Well, it looks like the morning just got more interesting. Don't get excited, Lil Sis. You'll take out your magic sword and slay those dragons. Now me, I better get my game on or I'll be on the buffet table pretty damn soon".

Michonne laughed. Their ass was grass and those walkers were the lawnmower and Merle was still Merle. He did calm her though and she concentrated on the narrow rutted road ahead. There was a turnaround area ahead but there were too many walkers on the road behind them. She forged ahead and the road got progressively worse and she had to slow down even more.

Michonne saw the steel gate that blocked the road in time to get stopped. They weren't going to be able to drive through it but they grabbed their bags and heaved them over. Michonne climbed up and helped Merle over. They were safe on the other side because the high chain link fence seemed strong enough to keep out the 20 or so walkers in their wake.

"Let's get moving. If we take off, they may wander off if they don't see or smell us", Michonne grabbed her bag and started down the road. She just wanted to get out of sight and then wait until the road cleared out.

Merle followed her down the narrow lane. The place look deserted but that fence was professionally made and the fencing would have cost a fortune. It was cool under these trees and he would have liked to hunt here in better days.

Michonne and Merle put their bags down out behind a tree. They should check this place out to see if there was any gasoline around. Merle had decided to take the hill side of the road and work their way up the hill. It was always better to have the high ground. Michonne followed him through the woods

Suddenly, there were two men on either side of them with pistols pointed at each of them. "Drop your weapons and put those hands up" one of the men growled. Michonne dropped her katana and the knife at her side. Her captor was staring at her so she took the time to take measure of their enemy.

Someone in his genetic past had thrown DNA around and created a handsome biracial man. Not quite six feet but looking very fit and athletic. He had golden skin and big blue eyes and a nice smile. Michonne pulled herself back to reality. She and Merle were in trouble here.

Merle stared at his captor. He was some sort of half breed from the looks of him. Ebony and ivory had gotten together and made this boy. He was bigger than Merle, light brown in color and had blue eyes. Those eyes weren't showing a lot of mercy and Merle knew this kid had the stuff to pull the trigger.

"Don't mean no harm here. Me and Michonne were looking for gas up this road and got chased up here by walkers. We came over the fence to get away from them. We decided to check the place out because we thought it was empty. Seemed okay and we didn't hear any banjos" Merle was using his reasonable voice, and he thought the banjo joke was kinda funny. The kid either didn't like old movies or had no sense of humor. Both were unforgiveable considering the state of the world today.

The other guy laughed so all was not lost. Michonne kept quiet. She was trying to appear as a harmless weak woman so that they would put their guard down a bit but Mr. Blue Eyes had looked at her katana and she knew that ship had sailed.

There was a few seconds when everybody stared at everyone else and some decision passed between their captors. "Put your hands behind you." In a matter of seconds they were tied together with a plastic handcuff, their weapons were gathered, and they were moving back down the embankment to the road. It was maybe three hundred yards up the road before they came to a large log cabin set in large clearing. They moved toward the dwelling and ordered to halt on the large deck.

Michonne's heart was pounding. The man went into the house and the boy watched them. Someone was going to come out of that house and their fate would be sealed. Presently, the door opened and a tall light-skinned Black woman came out of the house and surveyed them silently. Michonne could hear the call of a distant hawk and the chatter of birds in nearby trees.

Then, Merle spoke, "Christie? Christie Alston, what in the world are you doing here?"

Christie had not recognized Merle immediately. He was no longer the young soldier that she had met at a secret medical facility in a foreign country twenty years ago. She was no longer the young army nurse who had helped patch him back up only to see him leave on another mission less than a week later. She had a boyfriend back home that wanted to marry her. She had tried to ignore Merle's blatant flirting. Wounded soldiers always fall for their nurses. Nurses shouldn't fall for wounded soldiers. She knew that she liked his outrageousness too much, but he was fun to be around and soon to be gone on another mission. So what was the harm of joking around with him? Merle was leaving the next morning and they had a goodbye drink at the lounge of the residential wing. Then they had another and that had been enough for her to allow him to go to her room that night. He kissed her goodbye the next morning and handed her a paper with his name, rank, and serial number to be funny, but also his home address, telephone number back in the states and the name of his brother and all his information. "Don't know when I can get back this way, but get ahold of Daryl. He'll know where I am. I care about you Christie Alston."

Later she had heard that everyone on his mission had been killed. Then she found out that she was pregnant. She went back to Virginia but didn't marry her boyfriend when she got back home. She moved to Atlanta and raised her son alone. Men had drifted in and out of her life but none of them stuck to the wall. She worked in the emergency room of an Atlanta hospital and that provided all the excitement that she had needed. Caleb graduated from high school and had a year in at Georgia Tech when all this happened. Her twin brother Jesse had left Virginia after all their family had been killed and worked his way to Georgia to this house. It belonged to a paranoid prepper friend of hers and she and Caleb had headed here before it got too bad. Everyone was trying to get to Atlanta and they were headed the other way.

She gave Jesse the directions to this place before cell service had died. They had managed to stay alive though food was getting scarce. They had kept the road open to the house and she could see that was a mistake. Anybody could wander in here and now Merle Dixon, that blast from her past, was standing in front of her with arm missing and a beautiful Black woman by his side.

Merle looked at Christie Alston, the only woman he had ever loved. He had handed her his heart on a damn platter and in the end she had just been looking for sex and giggles. He had been critically wounded and sent to Germany for surgery. He was the only survivor and it had taken weeks for him to get well enough to sneak a flight to Christie's city. He had talked with someone in charge at her hospital and he had been told that Christie had gone home to get married. She knew better than to love a piece of redneck white trash like him. He was some sort of last fling before she married someone of her own kind.

That must be her son behind her, the boy with the blue eyes and the tough face. The other man was her twin brother Jesse because she had shown him a photograph one day. He looked again and the boy and knew then that he had a son. This boy was a Dixon. This boy was his blood and that changed everything.

Christie said, "Let them go. Merle and I are old war buddies and we need to talk for a few minutes."

Jesse cut the plastic cords that had bound the two together and Christie and Merle disappeared in the house together. He offered Michonne a chair and asked if she wanted something to drink. She had nodded and the younger man offered to go get it.

Jesse held out his hand, "Hello, I am sorry about the rude welcome. We haven't had visitors lately and we have forgotten what manners we did have. My name is Jesse Alston, the young man getting our drinks is my nephew Caleb, and the woman who just left with your friend is my sister Christie Alston.". Jesse thought that he might as well get his name out there just in case she wasn't with the one armed man. It had been a long year.

Michonne figured that Jesse was letting her know that he was available because he was interested in her. She was available too and he might think that Merle and she were together. "My name is Michonne Foster and the man with me is Merle Dixon. We were looking for gasoline and wandered up this road. We were pinned down by walkers and jumped over the fence".

Caleb came back with a pitcher of sweet tea. He poured out a glass for each of them. Michonne took another look at the kid and saw what was as plain as day. Caleb was Merle's son. Oh, my, Michonne thought, things are getting interesting.

TWDTWDTWD

Christie let Merle through an immaculate house and up the stairs to her room. She offered him a chair and sat down herself. "I thought that you were dead, Merle. That was what the scoop at the building".

Merle said, "I went back there looking for you and they said that you went home to get married, but I never knew that you were pregnant." He stared at her trying to figure what was the truth in all of this. "Why didn't you tell Daryl?"

Christie looked at Merle. "He was just a kid. Why would he care that his brother had a Black baby?" Merle remembered telling her that his father was a racist. No wonder she hadn't wanted to announce the new arrival.

Merle said, "Caleb is mine and I am going out there and claim him. He has no right to be mad at me because I never knew he existed before today."

Christie said, "His name is Caleb Dixon Alston and he knew that you were his father. I told him you were dead because I thought that you had been killed with the others. Please don't let him think that I kept you from him."

Merle made no promises; he was torn between exultation at having a son and fury that he been denied him all these years. He sneered, "What happened to your husband?"

Christie turned away, "I have never been married. I came home pregnant with Caleb and told him that I didn't want to get married."

Merle sat down in the chair then; he had tossed his life away because he hadn't bothered to fight for Christie. He had given up, sold himself out, and lost his chance to know his son. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, and more fuck. I thought you married Mr. Perfect because you didn't want to chance being with a white redneck convict like me."

Christie said, "Merle, you should have known better than that. I loved you, but we are both more than twenty years older. We lost our chance, but Caleb deserves a chance to know you as his father."

Merle looked at her. She was still beautiful and whole, but he was now a cripple and a recovering drug addict. "Let's go now and tell our son, daddy's home."

Caleb took the news like a Dixon. That is, he screamed threats and curses, and then gradually settled down. The only thing that made him calm down was that both his mother and the guy claiming to be his father seemed truly upset and saddened that they had both believed something that wasn't true. His mother had always told him that she had loved his father. Merle Dixon was not the strong hero of his dreams and the faded photographs taken two decades ago that she had shown him, but he was a father. He was Caleb Dixon-Alston and Merle was his father.

Michonne and Jesse drank the pitcher of tea and talked in between dramatic outburst from the other three. Merle was obviously still in love with Christie and couldn't stop staring at her. Caleb had all of Christie's good qualities and not too many of Merle's bad ones. Jesse was just damn beautiful and she just wanted to go off with him and work off some sexual frustration. Life on the road with Merle had taken a new turn, but she for one was willing to give a day or two to straighten out.

Remember when Merle was ranting on the roof top at Atlanta about how "My kind and your kind", so maybe that was left over from him believing that he was dumped by Christie. Merle has never gotten over it obviously and Christie? We shall see.

I love Jesse and he will always show up in any story with Michonne in it. Caleb is a bit older in this one, but don't you think Beth deserves a hot boyfriend who doesn't die on her?

Next chapter we will be back at the prison with Carol and Daryl. The muse wants to know what you thought about this story.


	5. Changing the Game

**Daryl holding Carol's hand and giving her a shoulder to lean on is an immense step for him. Carol accepting his shoulder is an equal step for her. Sure, she liked to flirt with him and little but she was "safe" in that he never seemed receptive to her teasing.**

Changing the Game

Carol fell asleep with her head on Daryl shoulder. The events of the previous days had caught up with her. Daryl gathered her up in his arms and for the second time that day he carried her to her cell. Beth held the cell door open as he brought her in and gently put her in the bottom bunk.

"Daryl, Maggie and Glenn are going on a formula run tomorrow and will you ask Carol if she can make a list of what the baby will need? Beth figured that he wouldn't leave Carol alone tonight. The baby was asleep in her room for now. Her dad had moved into his own room and she had put the baby in a basket in her cell. Taking care of babies had always come naturally to her.

Daryl nodded, "I'll sleep on the top bunk tonight in case Carol wakes up. I have some candles in my backpack. I will light one so if she wakes up it won't be too dark in here."

Beth said, "Maggie and I boiled more water to drink and I'll leave this by her bed. Dad wants her to keep herself hydrated. I need to go check on the baby." She turned to go and Daryl touched her shoulder.

"Beth, you take good care of Little As kicker and I'll watch over Carol." Daryl wanted to show his appreciation for her thoughtfulness. Maggie was usually too wrapped up in her relationship with Glenn to notice anything else. Carol was wiped out and Lori was dead. Little Beth had stepped up to take care of the baby and worry about getting jobs done.

Daryl went back to his perch and gathered a few things. He went back to Carol's cell and lit a candle. It wasn't very big but it lit up their small space and made it seem nicer and cozier. Daryl had a run early the next morning and he wanted to get some sleep. He wondered how two people who didn't like each other a whole lot could sleep in these bunks.

He fell asleep quickly and slept for hours. He woke up to see the candle was almost gone and he eased down off the bunk to light a new one. Daryl turned to go back to the top bunk and saw that Carol was awake. "Go back to sleep, Carol. It's late," he whispered.

"Thank you for lighting the candle, but we shouldn't waste it. We might need it for something more important later on," Carol whispered back.

Daryl was suddenly angry and he squatted on the floor beside her bunk, "We are using them for something important right now. You don't need to be lie around in the dark right now. I'll find more candles tomorrow." Suddenly he wanted so much to just lie there with her and talk about the run tomorrow. "We are going on a run tomorrow and in the morning they want you to make a list of what we need".

Carol laughed, "Well, that might be a pretty long list."

He was undone by her laugh, "Scoot over, my legs are killing me." She slid over and he rolled in beside her. "Damn, these bunks are small. Let's put some new beds on the list".

Carol giggled softly, "Let's get a hot tub. We can relax in our hot tub after a hard day of killing walkers and rebuilding civilization."

Daryl said, "I want a big screen television too. What else do you want?"

"I want a swimming pool and an ice cream maker," Carol replied thinking about ice cream cones with chocolate sprinkle which had always been Sophia's favorite treat.

Daryl saw a shadow cross her face. "A swimming pool and ice cream maker, and a hot tub? You have to throw one off the list."

"I don't see why I have to give something up if you get the wide screen television." Carol teased.

Daryl stretched out, "I'll settle for a new bed." He was falling back asleep and knew he needed to get up and let her sleep. He would just lie here until she fell asleep and then he would go back up to the other bunk.

Carol saw that he was asleep. She had slept close to Daryl while they were on the run so it felt natural to have him close but not this close. This was different. They were in the room lit with a candle and their bodies were touching. Not touching for comfort or warmth, or in a loving way; no, this felt like touching because you wanted to smell them, feel the texture of their skin and hair, hear the sound of their breathing in your ear, and taste their skin against your tongue and know that they wanted that with you too.

The knowledge that she wanted Daryl to touch in such a sensual way shocked Carol. Life with Ed had convinced her to never put herself in an intimate situation again. Sex equated to pain and humiliation. He wouldn't want her anyway; she wasn't a hot young babe like Maggie or even Beth. She was suddenly overwhelmed by her doubts. She should just turn her back to Daryl and go to sleep. Unbidden, Carol heard Sophia's voice say; "Didn't you choose to live today? This is what life is. Didn't you promise TDog that you wouldn't waste your life?" Carol shivered because Sophia's voice was that of an adult talking to another adult.

Her shiver must have wakened Daryl because he was watching her. The candle light was enough to let her see his face, a face that she loved. She propped herself up facing in she could see his eyes on her face and he put his hand out and played with her hair, gently tugging at the curls and she knew that he wanted to feel the texture of her hair. She wasn't alone in this; this wasn't a masturbatory fantasy. She put her fingers to his lips and traced their outline and felt the brush of his beard against her skin.

Daryl nipped at her fingers and then captured one in his mouth and sucked on it. He moved his hand that had been caressing her curls down her back to her ass pulling her even close to him. He pulled her finger out of his mouth and kissed her neck and then her mouth. He murmured against her ear, "This only goes as far as you want it to".

Carol smiled, "Good to know". They kissed slowly and deeply and his hand cupped one breast and his thumb rubbed against the nipple. Then, Daryl kicked his boots off and there was a scramble to be naked. He pulled his clothes off before she could even get started. He pulled her pants off and her panties before she got her top off. Carol was a little afraid that it was going to be over before she even got started.

Daryl slid back in bed with her and he kissed her breasts and suckled them while his hand moved between her legs. He seemed less sure there and her hand showed him the place and the pressure she needed. She was surprised at how wet she was, but there had been almost a year of foreplay.

Carol was trying to feel pleasure without expressing it audibly. She was afraid that if she made a sound it would come out loud enough to reverberate off the cold stone walls of the prison and wake everyone up including the baby.

Daryl was more than ready and he moved over her. Carol eased him inside her and they began to move out of sync until they found the beat of the own song and then they pulsed together until Carol gave a last stifled gasp and then Daryl finished with his own gasp.

They were lying on their back staring at the top bunk and catching their breath. Daryl looked at her with a quizzical look. He held up both hands so that she could see them. Carol was confused and then got it. She held up one hand with the thumb and fingers spread out. Daryl looked at the other hand and she hesitated before she let the other hand come up. This hand had three fingers up and Daryl looked imploringly at her and she added her index finger to the total.

"I gave you ten points and I only got nine?" Daryl teased.

Carol shook her head, "I give you ten then you'll slack off next time. Don't want you to think that you don't have to bring your "A" game". Daryl snickered. He kissed her neck again.

"I always had this vision of us lying in a big bed with handmade quilts and a roaring fireplace," he said. "I thought it I could give you that then it would be perfect".

Carol looked around her. Her big bed was a prison bunk and the handmade quilt was a threadbare prison issue blanket. The roaring fire was a candle. "We have all that and it was perfect. Well, not perfect but a close nine".

"Well," Daryl prompted, "Didn't you ever have some sort of daydream about me?" He seemed a little hurt that she hadn't volunteered her fantasies.

Carol decided that she wasn't going with her favorite one involving big beds with handmade quilts. There were lots of others. "A hayloft in summer time and you are up there putting in hay and I bring you a pitcher of cold water and a glass. You don't have a shirt on and when your drink the water I look at your bare sweaty chest. You finish the glass of water and take the pitcher and pour it over your head. Then you carry me to the hay and we tear our clothes off and have wild passionate sex. I can never figure out how to gracefully bring the blanket with me. It makes is so premeditated to do that."

Daryl said, "I am never going to work in a hayfield without a shirt. That stuff will eat you up. I'll be smart enough to sneak a blanket into the hayloft in case you ever bring me some water". He kissed again, "What kind of house do you want?"

Carol thought about it. "Got to be close to the barn so I don't have to carry the water too far". Daryl pinched her breast for her impertinence or because he had wanted to do that for a long time. "I want a big house so that I can have lots of people living there. I am past the whole nuclear family idea. I want everyone I love close at hand." She knew Daryl would probably hate that idea, but that is what she wanted. She wanted to have friends around and children playing in the yard and Daryl beside her.

Daryl had imagined a modest log cabin and he and Carol sitting together watching the flames of an open fire. "I want us to have our own bedroom and our own bathroom," Daryl growled, "And I have the right to strike people off our list once in a while. Axel is not going to be living in our house or any other man with a hankering for you."

Carol laughed and kissed him, "I got a hankering for you. So do we have our future all set? Once we knock off millions of walkers and rebuild civilization we go house shopping for a big house."

"That is close to a barn. Tell me another story". Daryl had a naked compliant Carol next to him and it seemed downright rude not to appreciate an opportunity to show her how much he loved her.

"Maybe I do, but the UST is over". Carol was sensing a return to sex in the way that Daryl was eyeing her body and she wanted to tease him just a little bit more.

"What is UST?" Daryl asked not really giving a shit but he figured that Carol wanted him to ask.

"Unresolved Sexual Tension. Romance novels always try to keep the couple on the verge of sex but something always intervenes or they think that the other one loves somebody else or they get separated for some reason. Anything to keep them apart. Once they get together it isn't interesting anymore".

"And our UST is over?" Daryl asked. "That is full of shit. I am USTing over here right now and we just did it a little while ago. Trust me I am interested in some more action. I don't believe in UST. I want some LUST right now. He spelled it out for her. "That a "L" an "U" a "S" and a "T". Together that spells LUST".

Carol frowned a bit, "What do the letters stand for?"

Daryl laughed in her ear, "Let's Undertake Sex Together".

Carol said, "I want one more thing in our big house beside the barn. Soundproofing. Are you ready for a little LUST?"

Daryl pinched her ass this time, "I got big UST for you, Carol".

And old man heard Carol laugh in the night and thought, "I told him to take care of her, but I thought he would be a little more patient than that".

Beth was feeding Judith and she heard Carol and thought, "I feel like Cinderella waiting for my prince, but for now I have you." She bent her head and kissed the sweet baby and rocked her to sleep.

**The prison might not seem like a romantic place for Carol and Daryl but perception is reality. Daryl has always been tugged away by everyone else, but this time he turned and went down the hill which changed everything in this story. It definitely was a game changer.**

**Next chapter we will be back with Michonne and her UST with Jesse(my crush) and Merle who has had his world turned upside down. I am so glad that a poster wrote that she appreciated that I didn't stereotype characters "and let them be more whole". Can you imagine Merle with a son? I can…..**

"

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	6. Circling

So the muse has put the UST in Caryl quite literally to bed only to become LUST. Today the muse wants to keep herself a"mused" by visiting with Michonne and Merle. It is the evening of the same day in which Merle has found Christie and Caleb.

Circling

Michonne was sitting on the back porch of the prepper home in the woods with Jesse and Christie. Caleb and Merle were out in the woods checking the fences. It had been a strange ass day all around and Michonne had shut herself down. She needed to process all this new information. She needed Merle to help her rescue Andrea and not be distracted by Christie and Caleb.

The Alstons were low on food and Merle had volunteered to go back to the farm and bring the food they had found in the basement here. Caleb had jumped up to go with him and Merle had slapped him on the back of the head and, "Don't be so trusting, Caleb. You need to make sure that you have the upper hand here. You'll go with me if Michonne stays here and if Jesse goes with you. Don't let me have any weapons and you and Jesse need to watch each other's backs".

Caleb drove the suv while Merle gave him a running commentary on how to survive in this world. Jesse had sat in back quietly. They had been hiding in the woods for a year now and the world hadn't gotten any better. He was listening to Merle as much or more than Caleb.

It didn't take long to get back there and gather the food. Caleb had walked around the house to make sure there weren't any walkers and found that there were still family photographs scattered around. He picked one up of a fresh faced teenage girl with blond hair and blue eyes. She looked young and innocent and he wondered how long she had lasted when this all went down. There wasn't any blood in the house though, so maybe she made it out. She might be a bad ass warrior woman by now. Caleb laughed but he looked again at the photograph for setting it back down carefully.

Caleb and Jesse had carried out the food while Merle dispatched the wandering walker who staggered along looking for an end to their torment. Merle looked over the farm and loved the wide openness of it. The place had water, garden areas, orchards, fields for hay, pasture for horses and cows, and a house and barns. There was enough room here for a small community to live.

Caleb had brought out the last box and stood beside of Merle. The older man was looking at the place with longing so Caleb looked at it too. The house was old but had been well built and maintained from the looks of it. The fields were being choked out with weeds and small shrubs, but they could be cleared and made useful again.

"It's got potential, Caleb. It's hidden back here and off the beaten track. We could build a fence around the place and keep out walkers. Grow food instead of scavenging. You could have a good life here". Merle had liked the place when he came here with Michonne but everything was different now. There was Caleb now. What kind of life would he have if they didn't make a home somewhere? He wanted this for Caleb. He would make this happen because Caleb could survive here.

"We should get back, "Jesse said. He had been watching Merle all morning and finding traces of Caleb. They looked alike, they stood alike, and the way they were looking out at the farm made him wish that he had his camera with him. Their faces had the same wistful look which was so incongruent with their tough faces that he knew it would have been a memorable photograph, but probably not one that Christie would like to see.

"Just give me time to check those snares to see if I have dinner in them". Merle shook himself out of his reverie and started off down the farm road," Come on, Caleb. I'll show you how to set a snare". Caleb started after him and Jesse stayed back to ponder the mystery that was Merle Dixon.

Jesse knew that Christie had loved Merle as impossible as it might seem that his intelligent sensible sister would fall for a wild man like Merle. He had chalked it up to Christie wanting a last (and probably only) fling before coming home and marrying her staid and proper fiancée. Now seeing them together he knew that it hadn't been a fling; she had loved Merle Dixon and been ready to have a life with him.

Now all these years later Merle had come back into Christie's life. Her first concern would be Caleb and how Merle might influence him, but Jesse suspected Christie was afraid that she still might have some residue of love for Merle. They were circling each other now like reluctant opponents in a boxing ring getting ready for the battle to really begin; they each had the power to hurt the other but no will to do so. Christie was too kind to want to hurt anyone and Merle loved her too much to want to hurt her. Jesse's first concern was Christie, then Caleb, and then ironically Merle. There was enough human pain out there already with the dead rising to relentlessly seek to destroy the living without the living adding more pain.

Jesse looked at the farm. He had avoided really looking at it because it hurt him to see land go to waste when there were people killing each other for food. He was a simple man, a farmer at heart. He had all sorts of degrees that certified that he was an overeducated farmer capable of teaching others how to make the earth beneath them productive and sustainable for generations, but in the end that wasn't rocket science. It was just using knowledge and common sense to be good stewards of the earth.

Merle had pointed out the geographical features that formed natural barriers against the walkers. It had as Merle had pointed out "potential". That was a powerful word to use in these times when people planned for the next hour or the next day. Merle wanted Caleb to have a next year, a next decade, a place to live a full long life. Merle saw this place as it could be, recognized its potential, and wanted it for Caleb.

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Michonne and Christie had talked while they worked in the small garden by the house. At first, they had kept the conversation casual and Michonne knew that Christie was curious about her connection to Merle. Michonne made sure that Christie learned that they were allies not and not romantically connected. Michonne had felt an odd loyalty to Merle. He had kept his end of the bargain so far and had treated her like a sister. Sure, she knew what an unredeemable piece of shit he really was, but she wouldn't say anything against him to Christie. Merle wasn't going to hurt Christie; Michonne realized that Merle had never wanted Christie to be hurt. That is why he accepted her leaving him all those years ago.

Gradually the conversation became more personal and Michonne talked about her lost son. There was something so kind in Christie's dark eyes that made you want to share your true self with her. Christie had the ability to listen without needing to judge; she had a willingness to accept what you said without the need to make you change it to suit her. She sensed that gentle Christie had immense reservoirs of strength within her. She was strong enough that she could accept, forgive, and move on. No wonder Merle was still in love with her after all this time; most people don't have the ability to love like Christie or Jesse.

Jesse had that too, an almost outer worldliness. These Alstons were too good for this world and Michonne had the notion that God sheltered them here because he wanted them to be safe. She shook that idea off; Jesse was no angel. Jesse wanted her and she wanted him in an entirely earthly way. She wanted him because he was handsome, manly, and had those soulful blue eyes that looked farther into her than anyone she had ever met. That was the reason why she wasn't telling Christie anything about Merle; she and Merle were alike hopelessly drawn to their polar opposites.

Christie talked about working in a family clinic before this all happened and how glad she had been when he decided to go to Georgia Tech because it was in Atlanta. He lived on campus but he was still close. He had been on campus that day when this happened and he swung by the house and grabbed her and their stuff and they had taken off for this place. It belonged to the man that Christie was dating. She had spent weekends out here with him and she had a key to the place. He was convinced that something drastic could happen at any time and had stored food and weapons here. "He had everything prepared for Armageddon, but he was away on a business trip when it hit. He called Caleb and me that day and said to fill the truck up with gas and get to the bug out house. I never heard from him after that, but we found a safe place here."

Christie stood up and stretched her back, "Jesse was working at Virginia Tech. He drove to our parent's house but that area was already lost. I gave him the directions here and he showed up three days later. He and his wife had divorced years ago and they didn't have any children. So we made our home here.

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Merle sought Michonne out when he got back, "Little Sister, we need to take off in the morning. We gotta check out that prison. We need Daryl or I'd just go right now and kill the Governor."

Merle was almost in a panic and Michonne wondered what had happened on the run to make him so unnerved, "I'll be ready to go. You are in a hurry all at once".

"If he finds them and knows how much I care about them he will kill them slowly in front of me to make it hurt more. I can't rest until I put him down. They will never be safe as long as he lives. I might not be able to protect them from ever danger but I can end this one if I can get in close. You go get Andrea. The new will be wearing off that relationship by now. You get her out and get back here with Jesse. I saw the way you were eyeing him." Merle was starting to calm down a bit now.

Michonne knew that he was right. The Governor was sadistic. He would enjoy hurting Merle because he had defied him in leaving. Merle would have to be an example for the others; defy me and you will regret it. Merle could choose to keep on putting distance between him and the Governor but he was through running away; Merle was going on the offensive to protect Christie and Caleb. It was a damn noble thing to do and she was going to do everything in her power to not let it become a suicide mission.

Merle had announced after dinner that they were living the next morning. Caleb had stood up and said, "I'm going with you".

Merle's answer had been quick, "No fucking way, Your ass is staying right here, boy".

Caleb had flushed, "Don't call me, boy".

Merle had been flustered by Caleb thinking that he called him "boy" because it was a racial insult. It pissed him off and Michonne wondered what a pissed off Merle might spout out. Something ugly or something profound?

Merle's words came out too fast to be premeditated, "I can call you boy if I want to. You are my boy even if I just found out today. I get to call you boy because you are my flesh and blood. I get to call you boy because I never got to stand in some fucking hospital and point to your wrinkled ass just born self and tell the people around me "That's my boy". I never got to hold you until you went to sleep. Never got to feel you hanging on to me when I took you for a ride on my bike. I never got you take hunting and brag to other people about how good a hunter my boy was. I never got to go fishing with you. I never got to take a damn wallet out and show you off to anybody. I never got to watch you graduate from high school and take that dumb ass photo with the cap and gown. I never one time got to tell anyone how proud I was of you. I never got to tell you that I love you. I never got to be your father but you'll always be my boy." Merle's voice was breaking up and he wasn't angry anymore.

Michonne decided on profound instead of ugly. Christie had risen to stand with Merle. They were united in wanting to keep Caleb safe at least. Christie had started weeping from the time that Merle had said the part about the hospital. Michonne took another glance at Christie. That damn Merle had done it. Merle was going to get laid tonight because he had broken every heart in this room. Hell, she would sleep with him tonight if Christie didn't.

Michonne exchanged a look with Jesse and knew that Merle would have to make do with Christie. She and the farmer were going to do what came natural tonight. She was either infatuated, in heat, or in love but which ever it was it was not to be denied. Merle had let his feelings guide him this evening and he was off walking around with his boy right now.

Jesse nudged her with his foot, "I am going with you tomorrow. I know that I am not a bad ass warrior like you and Merle but I am strong and fast. I won't be as good as you two but I won't hold you back".

Michonne shook her head at him, but said nothing. They could use more help but was Jesse ruthless enough? Knocking down walkers didn't count; it was harder to kill the living. If you hesitated then you were dead.

Caleb and Merle came back from their watch and Christie met them on the deck, "We are all going with you. You have come in here and changed everything. We can't let you go alone. You need us to get this done." She held her hand up to forestall any objections that he might raise. "You have said enough tonight and don't say anything else. Take a win, Merle. Now go on in and take a shower. You stink to high heaven and you are sleeping in my bed tonight". She turned and went back inside the house. Caleb shrugged his shoulders and went to his room. His room was beside of his mother's and he had some music he could listen to on his earphones.

Merle stayed on the deck awhile. He and Michonne could try to sneak out without them, but they might try to follow. He had spent a lifetime running, drugging, carousing, and fucking to blot out the reality that he had wanted to be a man worthy of Christie but was afraid to try. She was willing to give him a second chance and he was still afraid, but she needed him now. He had the skills to survive here even with one arm. He had a woman and a boy that he didn't deserve but he was for once going to try.

Merle went in and locked the door behind him. Michonne was still out back with Jesse. The place was powered by solar panels but they didn't waste energy by turning on lights that weren't being used. Caleb had shown him the electronic devices that would alert them if anything moved around the house.

Christie had left the door open to her room and she was found some clothes that looked like they would fit. He didn't ask whose they were because it didn't matter. He went into the bathroom and she closed the door to the hall and the bathroom behind her. She helped him undress; being one handed could be a bitch sometime. Christie started the shower and he went in. He could see her undressing outside and he was afraid that he was going to cum just by looking at her. She opened the shower door and stepped in behind him and began washing his back. Merle closed his eyes and begged God not to let anything bad happen to Christie or Caleb.

Christie kissed his shoulder and Merle turned to kiss her urgently. He wasn't going to last very long and he wanted to show her that even one armed he could satisfy her. Christie kissed him back and their tongues met and he tasted Christie Alston again. He pulled her close to him with both arms and took his one hand and squeezed her breast until his hungry mouth devoured it. He switched breasts while Christie steadied herself against the shower wall. His one hand searched between her legs for her that her clit and he could tell that she was aroused and he was ready. He continued to stroke her and he pulled her up so that he could enter her. It was quick but he could see her face when she gave a last answer to his thrust and she gave way to her climax. He then pushed hard into her and finished. He wanted to stand there forever inside her and feel the warmth of the water showering him and the warm wetness of being inside of Christie. He leaned his forehead against hers, "I love you, Christie".

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Jesse had checked all the alarms in the house. His bedroom was downstairs and he led Michonne there while he checked on the camera and electrical work downstairs. She took a quick shower and put on a gray t shirt with Virginia Tech on it. The shirt was made of soft cotton and she relished the softness against her skin.

Jesse leaned on the doorway. "You are beautiful and a little scary. I guess the katana is going to be the bed?  
She nodded; she was never far from her weapon of choice, "I won't use it on you unless you fail me in some way. Just a little friendly warning."

Jesse laughed, "Well, that would only be fair if you made clear what you want. You look like a woman who knows what she wants. Let me lower the bar a little bit; I haven't been with anybody for a really long time. That shirt has never looked better, but I am not going to put mud on a masterpiece." He crossed the room and swept the shirt over Michonne's head and drank in the sight of her naked body. Her breasts were full but she seemed tinier and more vulnerable without her clothes. Jesse began taking off his shirt and he had a smooth bare chest with nipples that begged her to touch them. He pulled his pants and underwear down and she saw that he was perfect in every way. Michonne shut out everything but right now. Tomorrow would take care of itself.

Later, she would sleep in his arms and put her head on his chest so that she could feel the strong beat that powered this man that she loved. Somewhere between being handcuffed and dragged down a path by Jesse and watching him undress in front of her she had fallen in love with him.

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Andrea had been angry with Michonne as the dark woman walked out of Woodbury. Michonne had been resistant to the place since they had gotten here. Andrea knew she would have died without Woodbury, but she felt a distinctive chill as her friend left. Michonne had save her life over and over out there and she had saved Michonne's. Who would have Michonne's back now? She didn't let people in very easily.

Andrea had gone back toward the small apartment that she had shared with Michonne, but some instinct told her to go to ground. She went into the building but came out a side door and down an alley to a place where she could see the gate. It wasn't long before she saw Merle swagger out with other men and go out that gate. Were they following Michonne? Had Phillip set Michonne up?

Andrea sneaked back to her apartment and rested. She was still getting over pneumonia and tired easily. Later, she took a walk with Milton and looked for Merle. He didn't seem to be anywhere around and she saw two patrol go out while they were walking. Something was up and she could sense it.

Later, Phillip had come by and he seemed out of sorts and irritable. She had pled exhaustion and he had given her that nice smile and told her to just rest up. Andrea had watched him cross the street to his office. Something had him riled up. She wished she had left with Michonne this morning, but she would have held her back. She wasn't completely well and she was never as strong as Michonne anyway.

There were more patrols going out the next day and no Merle around. Andrea had paid a visit to the town doctor and told her that she was just feeling so tired and weak. The doctor said that it might take a long time for her to get her strength back. Andrea wanted to be able to tell Phillip that wasn't well. She wanted him to think of her as weak and defenseless. The walls of Woodbury were closing in on her and she wanted out of here.

Where was Merle? Had he tried to kill Michonne and she killed him? Merle was the fire that lit the flames of her suspicions about Woodbury and Phillip. Was Michonne alright? Could she escape without her? Phillip would get tired of her invalid act and she suspected that he wouldn't handle being rejected well. What was she going to do?

**I hope you are enjoying the story so far. That is about as graphic as it is ever going to get. Just fill in the details from your own imagination. I am more interested in the motivation for the event than the event itself. Is it love? Comfort? Sex? **

**I love Andrea and I couldn't write her as the clueless twit of Season Three. My Andrea is smart enough to figure out that Merle is nowhere to be found and that means something. She hasn't spent all winter with Michonne without learning how to protect herself. Andrea will need to be both smart and strong to make it out of Woodbury alive.**

**Please review. I like thinking that someone has enjoyed my story. **


	7. Second Thoughts

**Romance has been blooming in Georgia, and let's face it. There have been some impulsive couplings so it is likely that at least one of the partners is feeling a little uneasy about it. This is a long chapter and be prepared for some good and bad sex.**

Second Thoughts

Michonne went to sleep on her side of the bed. Jesse had seemed to sense that she didn't want to cuddle and had turned over and went to sleep almost immediately. Michonne decided that Jesse even slept pretty. He didn't snore, grind his teeth, or fart in his sleep. The sex had been amazing and she had never had a more considerate lover. He was damn perfect.

She woke up and found that she had migrated closer to him in her sleep. She was now in the middle of the bed. Michonne scooted back to her side and took a few minutes to review her situation. She had impulsively had sex with Jesse. She should be thinking about rescuing Andrea and instead she had fallen in bed with Jesse. That part had been almost unbelievably good, but maybe that was just because she had been celibate for so long. That was probably the reason she was gravitating toward him.

Michonne woke up curled next to Jesse hours later. She decided to give up and stay where she was. Maybe there was something to the pheromone theory. Jesse might be emitting some sexual pheromones and she was just a victim of human biology. He did smell good, a little sweaty after sex but in a good way. She couldn't help wanting him; it was the damn pheromones.

Jesse woke up and turned to her and cuddled her close. Michonne felt her body reacting to him either because she had been celibate so long or those pesky pheromones. Jesse whispered, "Either get your ass on your side of the bed or be prepared to be ravaged".

Michonne giggled and her first thought was that she hadn't giggled in a very long time and the second was that she was staying on this side of the bed, "I think I'll prepare myself to be ravaged".

Jesse slid out of bed the next morning and took a quick shower. Michonne was still asleep on his side of the bed. She was going to be skittish in the cold light of day he thought. She had all sorts of defenses she had built up in her psyche that had helped her survive out there. He had to let her be Michonne. She was a warrior and he was a farmer. Warriors always left the farm folk behind when they went off adventuring, but Jesse was going with her. Farmers need love too.

Michonne woke up when she heard the shower running. It was almost dawn and she got up and dressed. She would take a shower when Jesse got out. Jesse came out of the bathroom already dressed. Michonne nodded at him and she went into the bathroom.

Jesse smiled; she was skittish this morning. He found his back pack and packed what he thought he would need. Michonne came back dressed and her face was stoic. She was being a warrior today. "Come with me Michonne, I have a treasure to show you".

Michonne knew that when the world fell apart there had been all sorts of looting but she couldn't quite see Jesse running with a wide screen television. "I have things I need to do this morning." She looked at him and his eyes were gleaming and curiosity overtook her desire to stay distant this morning, "Oh, all right, but I haven't got all day".

Jesse said, "It's downstairs". She followed him down to the basement level which must also be the storage level. He turned a light on and opened a refrigerator. "We keep it down here and as cool and dry as possible".

Michonne saw large plastic box inside, "What is inside it?" She hoped he wasn't as bat shit crazy as the Governor and had a head or something in there.

Jesse opened the box and she was more caught by the excitement and joy in this face than she was by the contents. He pulled out one shelf and she could see package after package of seeds.  
"The day I left Virginia Tech I put all these seeds in a container and brought them with me. These are all heirloom seeds. These are worth more than diamonds and rubies. The contents of this box will allow people to grow their own food and settle in one place."

Michonne stopped looking at all those small packages of seeds and looked at Jesse. He was a man of vision; he had taken the time to collect those seeds and protect them. There was strength in those beautiful hands, resolve in that handsome face, and the ability to see beyond today in those soulful blue eyes. Her great-grandchildren might survive because Jesse had saved the seeds.

He was a man worth having, and suddenly she missed Andrea so much that she could cry. She wanted to sit on that front deck and tell Andrea all about Jesse. Andrea would rag her ass off about getting the most handsome man left in the world and she would tell Andrea that she wasn't sharing. Andrea who was off in Woodbury and the Governor would be getting angrier and more unstable because he had not captured either of them.

Jesse saw her face change to fear and knew she must be worried about her friend "We are going to get her back. Caleb has been in martial arts training since kindergarten. He has been training Christie and me in fighting since last summer. We'll do our share and you and Merle will do the rest". He closed the refrigerator and Michonne settled against him. She put her arms around him and held tight for a while.

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Christie had drifted off to sleep from exhaustion while Merle stared at the ceiling and wondered if he should go to sleep or sneak out of her and run for his life. Sleep sounded good because he was tired. Today had been an emotional roller coaster and a physical marathon. Running sounded good too. He wouldn't have to worry that he would hurt her and Caleb by being the asshole that he knew himself to be. He didn't have a clue how to be the man that Christie needed or the father that Caleb deserved.

There were other reasons to run. He would be the most pussy whipped man in the world. Christie could just look at him with those big brown eyes and he could see himself just weakening and giving in to her will. He had already started; Christie Alston should not be going with them. She needed to keep her ass here; this place had kept her alive for a year. Yet, he hadn't insisted that she stay. She can go as far as the prison and then her ass is going back here and he set his jaw and his mind on that. He would let her boss his ass around all day but he would never let her endanger herself. His job was to keep Christie Alston alive and well. She could worry about everything else.

He didn't know how to be a father to Caleb. The boy was a grown man and could protect himself and Christie. Caleb had grown up with the thought that his father was a heroic soldier; the reality of a father who had been a petty criminal and a habitual drug abuser would only disappoint him. The kid had skills but he didn't have the cold blooded mindset that you have to have that allowed you to do what must be done to survive. He couldn't take off before he knew Caleb could survive.

Merle smiled; he wasn't going anywhere. He was just scared that's all. He had a lifetime of fucking up so he probably would fuck up things once in a while. He inched closer to Christie so that he could kiss her shoulder and run his hand down her body. It wasn't a wet dream; they had gone at each other with decades of pent up desire. He wasn't sure that either of them would be able to walk tomorrow.

After he had found out that she had returned to Virginia to marry the finance he had hopes that she would ditch the other man and call him. That fantasy had played itself out in his mind for years. Daryl would call him up and say, "Some woman named Christie called looking for you. I told her that you were working out of state and to give me her number and you would call her". He would get the number and she would say, "I love you, just come and get me". In his mind, he always ran to the truck and took off. She would always run into his arms and that would be that.

Over the years he had seen her a hundred times. Some tall black woman would be walking along the street and for a second he would think that it was Christie, but it had never been. At first, that would send him on a bender but later it would just be a short burst of pain. He had come to believe that it would never be Christie until it had been yesterday. She wasn't the same cute nurse that she had been but how she made him feel hadn't changed. He loved her body and soul and that would never change.

Merle kissed her neck and spooned beside her. Hell, he was going to sleep cuddled close tonight to make up for all those long years away from her. He had to find Daryl; he had gotten really drunk after he came back from overseas and told Daryl all about Christie. Daryl had tried talking about it the next morning and he had brushed it off, "She was just some woman who I screwed when I was overseas in the army. She was smart enough not to get with a Dixon. Think of how good ole dad treated our mother. Dixons hurt their women; you know that. Best just to give them a good time in the sack and get your ass out. Best for you and best for them." He wanted to find Daryl and tell him that he had found his Christie and maybe Dixons could be husbands and fathers. The boy might need to hear that and God knows that he needed to say it to him.

Christie woke up the next morning in a good mood but refused anymore sex. "I think I had my yearly quota last night and we have plans to make and miles to go before we sleep". Waking up with Merle beside her had jolted her a bit. She was not an impulsive woman and jumping into sex with Merle was impulsive.

Merle said, "We could start working on next year." Then he shifted gears, "Do you have photographs of you and Caleb?" Christie took down the family album and showed him Caleb as a baby. Merle had looked at all of them but took one of her and Caleb when he was graduated from high school. He kissed it and asked her to hold it for him. He was afraid that the Governor would find it on him. His mood shifted back to amorous lover and he began his Pepe LePeu imitation that had made her laugh. Merle made a wonderful horny skunk and she laughed as she avoided his pursuit and then turned as kissed him as hard and deeply as she ever had. Then she pushed him away again.  
Merle was full of himself this morning and she found herself laughing at his outrageousness. She took a shower and packed things and helped him dress. He hated it but it was faster if she helped. Somehow they fell into a routine as if they had been together for twenty years instead of twenty hours.

They met the others and made final preparation. There were security protocols for when they all left the compound and they put them in place. They took two vehicles and Merle, Christie, and Caleb went in the suv and Jesse and Michonne took the other. They were soon driving the back roads toward the prison.

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Daryl woke up when Carol tried to maneuver over him to get out of the bunk. It was early but he could see her by the first milky light of the morning and not by candlelight. He had been half awake already and a naked Carol trying to slide over his naked body was well worth waking up for. "I want to go get breakfast ready" she whispered. He had put his arms around her and she couldn't move"

"I'll help with breakfast if you'll kiss me good morning and not try to sneak away like some thief in the night." Daryl teased. He would rather have laid her on her back and went for another ride on the "carosell" this morning, but he knew her too well to think that she was going to screw him while everyone woke up and walked around right outside their cell. He made a note to himself; wake up earlier than anyone else from now on.

She smiled that Carol smile and he forgave her for having some sense of propriety and kissed him good morning. They got dressed which took him longer than usual because he spent too much time staring at her body. She waited on him to finish and they went to the kitchen area. She made oatmeal and then made oatmeal cakes and he worked on the dried eggs and by the time the others started drifting in breakfast was ready.

Carol and Daryl d served breakfast together. He would dump a pile of eggs on their plates and Carol would place two oatmeal cakes on their plates and point out the big jar of jelly they had unearthed from the prison food stores. Daryl had figured that everyone knew by now and he might as well get it out there that they were together as a couple and not as some quick fuck.

Beth went through the line for herself and her father. "Daddy wants you to come and see him now, Daryl". Hershel was sitting a table by himself and he looked up at Daryl when he went over there. "What do you need, Old Man?  
Hershel said, "I don't need anything but to tell you that if you don't treat her right I'll kick your ass down and pound your head with my crutch. That's a big order for a one-legged man but I think I'd be mad enough to get it done".

Daryl looked at Hershel, "If I don't treat her right, I'll lay my own ass down so that you can pound me with your crutch. I don't know shit about how to do this. So I am going to need somebody to give me some advice once in a while."

Hershel nodded. "Might be easier than knocking your ass down later". Beth joined her father and Daryl scooted back to his place beside Carol.

They ate together before he had to leave for the run. Daryl kept sneaking looks at Carol and she figured he might not get it out before he had to leave, "What is it?"

Daryl had a list of things that he wanted to say before he left. "You kissed me last night and said good night to me".

Carol tried to remember even saying it. A good night kiss was pretty far down on her list of memories of the night before. Daryl had been a little clumsy but receptive to learning. The feel of him inside her and the release of orgasm was way ahead of a good night kiss.

Daryl saw the look on her face and he was suddenly so hard that he would have taken her right there between the eggs and the jelly, but he knew that wasn't going to happen. "You kissed me good night and said good night like it was the most natural thing in the world, but nobody ever did that to me before. I just lay there like a rock and didn't kiss you back."

Carol ate her eggs and thought about it. "I want you to be the last person I see before I go to sleep and the first person I see when I wake up. Is that too much togetherness? You can sleep in another cell if it is. We both know that you want me. I can tell by the tent in your pants right now, but we don't have to be joined at the hip. You have your things to take care of and I have mine."

"That is not the first hard on you have given me, Carol. Kiss me good night every night and kiss me good morning every morning. That's what I want. I'll keep my shit over in the cell beside yours because those cells are not very big, but my ass wants to be lying beside yours every night." Daryl ate the oatmeal cakes last. He saw now why Carol had saved extra to give Carl.

Carol gave his dick a friendly pat, "I'll walk your out when you are ready, but I have to go back toward the kitchen section and I am afraid to go by myself." She looked at him meaningfully and he finally got it and he walked her back toward the prison kitchen. He did get to take her on a prison table that morning and then they walked to the truck where Glenn and Maggie were waiting. He kissed her goodbye for the first time and she walked back to do the dishes and think about what needed to be done. She hadn't gotten that list together last night or this morning, but maybe this afternoon.

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Andrea woke up disgusted with herself and as frightened as she had ever been. Phillip had stopped by last night and she had had sex with him. He was getting suspicious of her and she needed to allay his doubts about her. It wasn't the first time she had faked an orgasm, and not the first time she had used her body to get something that she wanted. She wasn't a saint, but pretending to enjoy his sick attentions had broken something within her. He had dropped the guise of genial leader. She was his property now. There were bruises on her that had not been there the day before. The violence would escalate because he had enjoyed inflicting pain. He would kill her before he let her go. She might die getting away but she was pretty much dead already if she stayed.

She missed Michonne so much. Together they could face anything and she felt weak without her. They had laughed one night about their secret crushes. Michonne had crushed big time on her high school art teacher who was forty years old and happily married. She had never acted on it and was embarrassed to tell it now. Michonne didn't share a whole lot but she had laughed at herself that night.

Andrea had confessed to her crush on Rick Grimes. She had been out on an ill-fated run in Atlanta when she met him. He was tall and lanky and had blue eyes. She had threatened him with a pistol and he had later shown her where the safety was.

He turned out to be married to a woman in the camp that everybody knew was screwing a friend of her late husband. Rick came back and he and Lori had reunited. Lori was pregnant by either Shane or Rick.

Andrea had previously confessed to screwing Shane so why she considered Rick her secret crush was a surprise to Michonne.

Michonne had asked, "Why him?"

Andrea had answered, "He is a decent man. Not a particularly good leader because he anguishes too much over ever decision. Loved his little boy and I don't know why him. I just wanted to take him in my tent and make him all better". They had laughed together, but today facing what she had to face she wished she that memory to overlay last night's episode.

**AN**

**It was a long chapter but I wanted to give a brief overview of each couple and to give an update on Andrea and to let you know that my Andrea was a much quicker learner than the TV version of her.**

**Why would Christie renew her acquaintance with Merle? Surely no woman would ask that question. There was something about Merle that attracts and repels. Christie loves him. Plain and simple**.

**I love Michonne and see her as being like Merle in lots of ways. She shuts down and he leaves the situation. Jesse and Christie have the emotional maturity to love them and accept them as they are.**

**I wanted Daryl not to crawl back into his emotional cocoon but to step out and be a butterfly. He was undone by the goodnight kiss because Carol it made him aware of how little honest** **affection he had had in his life and that he wanted it in his life. He wants to be kissed goodnight, good morning and goodbye. And I do know how to spell "carousel" and I'll be disappointed if you didn't catch that.**

**Good day to you all and drop a review by way please.**


	8. Bood

**The chapter merges the two groups together. It's basically a filler chapter because the real action comes in the next chapter. This one starts about two seconds after the last one ended. **

Blood

"Hey, wait a second". Carol turned to see Daryl walking toward her. "Grab your weapons and come with us. You know what we need better than a list," Daryl called out. "Come on, I ain't got all day".

Carol was torn between her duties here and the prospects of going with Daryl. "Let me tell Hershel that I am going, but I need to get back here before too long". She grabbed her weapons that were in her cell and told Beth and Hershel where she was going.

Daryl drove one of the trucks and Glenn the other. They were headed toward a small town that they had not previously scavenged. Carol had scavenged while they were on the road but this felt different. They were scavenging for things for a permanent home. Daryl kept looking at Carol as he drove and finally said, "What are we?"

Carol was used to filling in the blanks in conversations with Daryl, "You are the guy who quit saying stop".

Daryl actually grinned at that, "You opened a door that said, "Do not enter". I just kept waiting around until you were ready to let me in. But, if I met somebody new, what are you to me? Girlfriend, lover, what are you?"

Carol thought about it, "I don't know. Lover doesn't sound right and girlfriend? Maybe we are just Carol and Daryl and we don't need to put a title on what we are."

Daryl squirmed and he made a face at her answer. He didn't know how to say things really good like she did but he had something to say anyway. "I want a title. I want to know what I am to you. You must know how much I love you. Don't you know that you are the first woman I have ever loved?"

He had never told Carol that he loved her though after last night she knew that he did. Daryl wanted a title but they didn't have a relationship that fell into a simple description. "What about partner?"

Daryl considered it and he seemed settled on an answer, "It sounds like we are in business together and really sounds all cold to me. How about husband and wife?"

Carol was startled. "Do you want to get married?"

Daryl said, "I think I already am. Is getting married when you love someone and want to spend whatever time you have left with that person?"

There was an edge in Carol's voice when she answered, "There is more to it than just loving someone. You make promises to that other person and they make promises to you".

"I never heard any of those promises that I couldn't keep for you, "Daryl's voice was sure. "Couldn't ya keep them for me?" There was less assurance in the voice now. Did she not love him?

They were approaching the shopping center and it was time to get the game on, but Carol could not let Daryl go into danger without her assurance, "I could keep those promises to you forever. I do love you and I know your true heart. I would love to think of you as my husband."

Daryl pulled in beside of Maggie and Glenn. "You better watch your ass out there, my dear wife. Hershel can say the words sometime to show other people, but I feel bound to those promises already."

Carol gathered up her weapons and watched a few walkers stagger their way. "I'll have your back, Daryl. I am bound to every promise but to obey."

Daryl was looking out his door window, "Damn, I was counting on that one when you get all stubborn". He opened the door and stepped with a knife and intercepted a walker headed toward Maggie.

Carol jumped out and moved to him and they moved together to the store. The store had been looted sometime in the past, but the door had been shut with a shopping cart. Daryl and Glenn checked the store out and couldn't find any walkers and Glenn assumed watch on the front. Carol, Daryl, and Maggie grabbed shopping carts. Carol moved toward the cleaning supplies aisle while Maggie moved toward the toiletries and personal hygiene sections. . There was not some food at the prison but they needed cleaning supplies like bleach and detergents. There was a small baby section and she got all the formula and baby supplies that she could find. Carol and Maggie loaded carts up and Daryl and Glenn loaded them. Carol was glad to see that there were over the counter type medications. Most of the food was gone but Daryl broke into a store room at the back and found boxes of canned goods. It was all over in twenty minutes and they were cruising the now for another store. Carol pointed out a fabric store and they found it empty of walkers and she gathered cotton, sewing supplies, and all sorts of fabric.

There was a chain department store and it had not been looted. Daryl was able to jam the door open and they grabbed everything they could find for the baby. They took things that they needed for right now and locked the place back up.

There were walkers building up and they had to fight their way to the trucks and Daryl followed Carol to her side and made certain that she was in. She scooted over and opened his side so that he could slide in. He nodded his thanks and they decided it was time to go back to the prison.

They waited at the gate until Carl ran down and opened the way. The trucks swept up the hill toward the prison and behind them they heard a beep. Daryl was startled, "What the hell is that?" He looked back and saw a big man standing beside of a suv. Daryl stopped the truck and looked again. He pulled the truck in a wide circle back toward the gate. The man was Merle. His brother had found him at last.

Carol saw Merle standing on the outside and she ran to open the gates. He had other people with him and the walkers were starting to stagger toward their vehicles. Daryl helped her get the gates open and the truck and the suv pulled in and they closed the gates securely behind them.

Merle hugged Daryl. He and the others had recognized that the prison was occupied but they had been hiding in the wooded area around the prison. Merle had recognized the deputy that had handcuffed him to a pipe and left him to die, though Andrea had told Michonne that the group had returned the next day. He still wanted to beat his face in but there was too much going on right now for that. He had waited until he saw Daryl drive up and then the two vehicles moved toward the prison.

Carol smiled at the others wondering how racist Merle had wound up with a Black group of survivors. She looked at the young man and saw that he looked like Merle. He was a good looking young man with Dixon eyes and his father's build. Carol knew that with the Dixon brothers that blood was thicker than cement and she was happy for Merle and for Daryl.

Michonne was watching her and knew that this had to be Carol. She had silver hair and blue eyes and a kind way about her. The other man currently pounding Merle on the back must be Daryl.

Merle was so happy to see Daryl that he hugged Carol startling both of them. "Good to see the mouse is still kicking. You taking good care of that brother of mine?" Carol just gave him her cheekiest grin and said, "We take good care of each other".

Carol nodded to the group, "Follow us up the hill and we'll talk out of this heat".

Daryl saw that everyone was standing up at the courtyard watching, "Come on now" He got in the truck and started the little convoy up the hill. Carol was glad for Daryl's sake that Merle had showed up, but she suspected that there was more than a family reunion on the way.

Rick met them at the entrance of the courtyard. He looked wary and suspicious and Carol hoped that he held himself together and didn't cause problems. She was ready to welcome these people in. She had already accepted Oscar and Axel as part of the community but not yet part of the group. That bond had been formed last summer when they all met on the farm.

Daryl said, "You remember Merle? He has things he needs to tell us." Merle had told him that much before they left the bottom of the hill.

Rick let them in to their cell block. There was an open space in front of the cells and they stood in a semicircle. Merle motioned toward Michonne, "Little Sister has something to say".

Michonne moved a little toward the front and began speaking, "Last fall I met a woman running in the woods. Her group had been attacked by a herd of walkers and she had become separated from them. She was exhausted and couldn't go another step. I used my katana to kill the walkers who were pursuing her. Her name was "Andrea, Andrea Harrison".

She saw their faces light up. "We spent the winter months roaming around trying to stay alive. Andrea got sick and we got captured by another group that brought us back to Woodbury. The place was run by a man that they called the Governor. Woodbury had a doctor and they treated Andrea and she got better. I never trusted them and I hated the Governor on sight. I met Merle there and he was a trusted lieutenant of the Governor. I tried to convince Andrea to leave and she wouldn't go. They did let me go, but they sent four men after me to kill me out of Woodbury so that Andrea wouldn't know. I killed two of them and was wounded myself. Merle was one of the remaining two that were pursuing me." She nodded to Merle and stepped back.

Merle hoped that Christie would someday forgive him for what he was about to say, "I wanted to go back to Woodbury and tell the Governor that we had killed her but a herd of walkers had got the body. He expected me to bring her head back so that it could go in his trophy case. I tried to convince the other man to cover my lie, but he wanted to tell the Governor the truth. I killed him, and asked Michonne to let me go with her. We would run together and have a better chance of making it away. She agreed but only if I would promise to help her rescue Andrea from the Governor."

Michonne took the story back up, "Merle got me out of there, patched me up, and we got away. He wanted to find Daryl because he loves him and I agreed because I don't think we can do this without him. We met Christie, Caleb, and Jesse on the way."

Merle's voice was urgent, "You can't stay here. It's only twenty miles or so to Woodbury. He knows about this place and he will send patrols this way. He won't rest until he finds us. He won't let any of you live except maybe the three women."

There was silence in the room. Carol looked at the walls and knew that sooner or later the Governor would come calling. He would kill Daryl and the other men. Andrea had saved her that night the farm fell. She couldn't repay TDog for what he had done for her but she could Andrea. She stepped forward, "I'll go with you. Andrea saved my life and I want to help her get away from this place."

Daryl stepped forward, "I'll go with you."

Oscar stepped up, "I don't know her, but I have done some bad things in my life. I want to do some good things too."

Axel moved forward, "I'll go. I can slither my way almost anywhere. Might as well use those skills to break somebody out of a bad place".

Rick was having a hard time concentrating on the conversation. Andrea was alive. She had been part of the group since Atlanta, but they had lost her last fall. Merle and this Black woman were going to go take her out of some place she was in, "She didn't want to leave with Michonne, so why do you think that she even wants to leave?" Rick wasn't going to sacrifice Daryl and the others for some quixotic wild goose chase.

Merle answered, "Andrea is still getting over pneumonia and she just saw the part of Woodbury that the Governor wanted her to. He will get tired of being the good guy soon enough and she will find out what he really is. He will hurt her and he will enjoy it. I didn't know how bad he was until I found his secret room. We have to find her before he takes her there."

Rick's mind was swirling with thoughts of Lori's death. He hadn't been able to sleep or eat she died down there and Carl had to put her down. Part of him knew that he was losing his grip and the other didn't care anymore.

Christie was watching Rick and knew he was headed for a breakdown. He needed to get away from this place and the role of the leader. There was an old man with part of a leg missing and a young girl carrying a baby. She needed to get them somewhere safer than this. "I have a place that we can go to until this gets settled. Pack up your stuff and we'll be on our way in fifteen minutes."

Caleb had been staring at the young girl with the baby. She was the girl in the photograph from the farm. She must be the baby's mother and he wondered who could be the father. She was prettier in person than that bland photograph.

Christie ordered, "Caleb, start loading their stuff. We'll take the vehicles out front that are loaded. They can take ours. We may need another one to get everyone in."

Caleb started, "I am going with dad." He had never called Merle dad before but it sounded right to him.

Merle interjected, "Caleb, I need to know that your mother is safe, it ain't no Sunday picnic out there. We saw patrols on the way in. You need to sneak back the same way. There's a baby here and you are the one I trust the most." Caleb looked at his father and finally nodded. Caleb's first duty was to protect his mother.

Glenn looked at Maggie. He was the man in this family. Hershel was still recuperating from the amputation. He wanted to be part of the rescue but it might take both him and Maggie to protect the family. His family needed him. He had lost his first family when all happened and he couldn't bear to lose another. Glenn moved the cells that had their personal possessions, "Come on, let's get our things in the vehicles."

Maggie and Beth moved after him. Hershel limped over to Rick. "Let's go son. You have a boy and a baby to look after".

Rick looked at Hershel through bewildered eyes. They had fought so hard for this safe place. Now Merle Dixon came rolling in here with some strangers and he had taken control. He wasn't about to let this group leave the prison they had fought so hard to keep.

Hershel had barely listened to the conversation because he had spent his time looking at the strangers. The big man in charge was Daryl's brother and he had heard that he was a racist drug addict totally out of control. This man had clear blue eyes and a biracial son that he obviously loved. Merle had turned toward the boy's mother when she ordered her son to get started and they had exchanged a look that had made him lonely to see it. Merle was no angel but he these two loved him anyway.

Hershel had looked at the woman standing beside of Merle. She might be forty or so, tall, brown skinned, and with large dark eyes. She was an attractive woman and seemed used to be in authority. She loved Merle so how bad could he really be?

The dark skinned woman had dreadlocks and a stoic expression. She had spoken when she needed to and her voice was low pitched but carried well. She carried a long sword and seemed determined to save her friend.

The man standing beside of her looked to be forty or so. He was a light-skinned Black man with blue eyes. He hadn't said anything but he looked like he could take care of himself in a fight.

Caleb was just a kid, maybe twenty and not filled all the way out. He had light brown hair and blue eyes and a tough face like his father but when he smiled he looked like his mother. He had her gentleness. Caleb kept looking at Beth and Hershel saw that she was looking back.

Hershel put his hand on Rick's arm, "Rick, these are good people. I trust them and I want you to get your things together. We have women and children to think about now". Hershel's voice was gentle but firm.

Rick nodded and Carl ran toward their cell and began putting their stuff in bags and boxes. It all moved quickly after that. They had so few possessions and had been living on the run for so long that packed quickly. Caleb was taking Hershel, Beth, and the baby in the suv. Maggie and Glenn got in line. Christy drove the other truck and Rick and Carl got in with her.

Daryl and Carol had packed their things to go with the others and Daryl tried to convince Carol to go with Maggie and Beth. She had politely refused and he was reminded that she never promised that she would obey him.

Michonne drove the suv carrying Jesse, Carol, and Daryl. Merle had Oscar and Axel. All the vehicles pulled out at the same time. Carl locked the gate to the courtyard and left the gates open to the fenced in area. Soon walkers would wander in and the only sign that it had been recently inhabited were the three graves off to the side.

Caleb led the convoy going back to their compound and turned left coming out of the prison. He would take back roads going back. Merle had given him directions on the way in. He looked at Beth and the baby in his rear view mirror and knew that he had to be careful. He had precious cargo.

Michonne had pulled out to the right and Merle was behind her. He had waited until the other convoy was out of sight before he turned right and followed Michonne. He had just found them and now they were leaving him and he wondered why in the hell he was going to rescue Blondie. Then, Merle remembered the look of pride on Christy's and Caleb's face when he outlined his plan to the group. He had done terrible things in his past and this was his road to redemption.

AN

**The mission that they are just starting mirrors the mission to rescue Glenn and Maggie. Merle knows a "back door" way to get into Woodbury. Michonne is less focused on killing the Governor and more on rescuing Andrea. **

**Please review**.


	9. Connecting

**I am adding a little more fluff to an action chapter because having read the synopsis of this week's episode and finding it Caryl unfriendly I decided to make up for the deficits in TWD. Not too much fluff but enough to add some sweet to the recipe. The fluff is just unnecessary sex, but you have been warned.**

Connecting

Merle watched for Michonne in his rear view mirror and made a right hand turn. He knew a place that they could hang out and make the final preparations for going in to Woodbury. He wanted to spend some time with Daryl and the team needed to bond. Merle remembered the camaraderie of his army team well. This team needed to make some connections before they went into battle. He trusted Daryl and Michonne but the two cons and Carol were wild cards.

Michonne followed Merle and thought that she had been following his ass around for days now. The deal that they had struck in the woods outside Woodbury was coming to fruition. Merle had kept his end of the bargain; he was risking his life to help her find Andrea. Seven people willing to go into the belly of the beast to save someone else. Maybe there was a chance that humanity could survive this.

Carol wasn't afraid; she had confronted fear in a black as midnight closet. She owed her life to Andrea and she was going to save Andrea today. She just knew it and she couldn't explain how. She was the weakest link in this chain but Andrea wasn't going to make it out unless she was there. Carol smiled at Daryl who was checking his weapons and biting his lip.

She loved Daryl. She had been afraid of him at the quarry but she had been aware of him as a man even then. He attracted her because he was a mass of contradictions. Daryl had been openly contemptuous of the camp's inhabitants but still bringing back food from hunting and sharing with the others. He appeared tough and uncaring but she had seen his reaction of Merle being left behind. Carol had been working on laundry one day and was suddenly aware of someone watching her. She had glanced up and her eyes had met the eyes of the moody hunter. They had stared at each other for a millennium or a couple of seconds according to whose timepiece you were using. She had dropped her eyes because if Ed had seen that he would beat her half to death but she was always aware of Daryl after that. She had always suppressed that awareness until last night. She had finally put Ed behind her and was able to open the door to Daryl.

Carol had been sure that Daryl would sneak away in the night or be all out of sorts this morning the way he got when he didn't know how to handle his feelings. Instead he had helped her with breakfast and stood by her to dish it out. She had never loved him more than at that time. She knew that would be difficult for him. Later as they ate sitting close enough so that their thighs were touching she recognized the desire for her in his eyes and knew that he was going on a run this morning. He wanted a woman who would kiss him good morning, goodnight, and goodbye. She could do better than kiss him goodbye.

He had followed her to the cafeteria and she had unlocked the door and locked it behind them. She began stripping off her clothes and Daryl had stood there in the dim light of that room and stared at her for a minute before the kicked his boots off. She watched him finish taking his clothes and felt herself become even more ready for him.

He was more than ready and they stood there looking at each other for a millennium or a couple of seconds according to whose timepiece you were using. He smiled and she knew that he was remembering that look at the quarry. Daryl came closer and took her hand they went to a table far back in the cafeteria and he sat her on a table and they both knew that this was going to be quick. He kissed her mouth and both of his hands were squeezing her breasts and he put his hungry mouth down to an eager nipple and sucked. He pushed her down on the table gently and moved his hungry mouth between her legs and sought that part of her that she had shown him last night. His suckled her there and the felt her climax coming like a runaway freight trail. She was barely finished before he slid his cock into her and began thrusting into her. He used his fingers to rub her between the legs and somehow she was able to finish ahead of him. He came inside her and then pulled away from her as they stared at each other and tried to catch their breath.

Carol knew that there was a bucket of clean water left in here and she found it and they washed each other with a paper towel and got dressed. She followed Daryl out to the truck for is run. They had not said a word to each other since they had entered the cafeteria. Maggie and Glenn had been waiting by their truck with a knowing look as they approached. Carol looked at Daryl and said in a low enough voice so that only he could hear, "Now that's the way we say goodbye around hear".

Daryl had blushed to his toenails but had laughed, "Don't stop".

She had turned away to go to the chores that needed to be done but how wound up going with Daryl instead. Carol was glad that they had gone to the cafeteria and on the run together this morning. She didn't know what would happen at Woodbury, but she had had a wonderful morning.

TWD TWD TWD

Merle led them to an abandoned warehouse. It had been cleared of walkers at one time and locked back up. They pulled their vehicles inside and shut the doors again. Merle and Michonne drew a map of Woodbury on a wall with a piece of chalk. Merle showed the "back door" which was located at the far end of the town in a relatively uninhabited section. The secret room was close to there and he pointed out the building which was kept locked but not guarded. His team was going down a back street toward the Governor's apartment. Merle intended to kill him. Some of the men working for the Governor were not all that bad and some were. He knew who he would take out and those he would spare. Woodbury could be a decent place if they got rid of the people on his list.

Michonne's team would check out the secret room and the apartment that she and Andrea had lived in. They would find Andrea and take her to the suv and go on back to the compound. Merle's team would leave as soon as he did what he had to do. They would all meet back at the compound.

Michonne's team consisted of Carol and Jesse. She would have liked to do it all by herself but she had no idea of what she might face or what condition Andrea might be in. Carol was wearing backpack of medical supplies and would take care of first aid.

Merle had Daryl, Oscar, and Axel. They seemed capable enough and this could only work if they could be quiet. Going in and shooting up the town wasn't how this needed to go down. They were to be angels of death moving silently through the streets and alleys of Woodbury bringing a quick end to those on their list.

There were seven of them against a small town, but Merle had laughed and said he, his brother Daryl, and his sister Michonne he counted twenty one and the rest of them would bring the total to twenty five. Michonne, Merle, and Daryl talked for a long time after the meeting. She trusted these two men to do what she wanted to do, kill the Governor and change Woodbury.

Michonne found herself trusting Carol. She wasn't going to whirl into Woodbury with a sword and wipe out a hundred warriors, but she would do what she had to do. She didn't underestimate Carol; she had survived this long and it wasn't all Daryl's doing. She used a knife correctly and didn't seem all shaky.

Jesse spent time with Daryl. Jesse had spent a lifetime hunting and fishing in Virginia. He understood the attraction of wild places and farms. They both hated cities and they both wanted to keep those women alive.

Oscar and Axel were surprisingly calm. Life in prison had taught them that things can go south quickly and you had to know how to defend yourself with whatever was at hand. They didn't have any hope of finding loved ones after all this time. The prison was as much a home as they could hope for.

They left their vehicles far enough back from Woodbury so that they weren't heard. They waited until it was almost dark to move close to Woodbury. They review their plan and Daryl had kissed Carol and then silently followed Merle through the back door which was actually a huge sheet of metal seemingly bolted into place but Merle had managed to fix it so that it would slide far enough to allow them to slip in one at a time. There was a metal clip to lock it in from the front and back.

Michonne was the first in on their team, then Carol, and then Jesse. He secured it behind him but not too tightly. He wanted the women to be able to open the "door" easily.

Carol took a deep breath. They were inside a storage compartment and the warehouse that the secret room was in was two building away. She prayed that Andrea wasn't there but they would soon know. Michonne nodded at Carol and Jesse and they started out of the building.

AN

**I'll update soon, can't leave you hanging too long. I want to know what happens too. **

**Thank you for your kind reviews and can I trouble you for another?**


	10. Whatever It Takes

**Guess what? An ice storm is coming to a town near me tomorrow night, so I am going to try to get some updates out before the Mountain State turns back to third world status. Not much fluff in this one but Carol and Michonne are on a rescue mission. Can't have my CAMmie all broken up any longer.**

What Comes Our Way

Michonne hesitated at the door and edged it open a crack and peered into the dark. She could see the door of the warehouse and saw a man standing there guarding the door. It was one of the Governor's inner circle and she knew that Andrea was in the room already. She shook her head and moved out of the way so that the others could see.

Carol looked the guy over. He was short and fat; the kind of guy who nobody had paid much attention to before this all happened. He had latched himself onto the Governor and would turn a blind eye to anything that he did in that room.

There was a two short bursts from an automatic rifle down toward the front gates and Carol saw the door open behind the guard and a tall man step out. The light from inside the warehouse back lit the tall man and Michonne hissed in her ear and Carol figured that must be the Governor. The tall man shut the door behind him and walked deliberately toward the sound.

Carol whispered to Michonne, "I got this" and eased the door open. She walked away from the warehouse and slipped through the alley to emerge in front of the warehouse. Carol pushed her shirt behind her favorite knife and made sure that it was one quick grip away. She called out, "What's going on?" and walked toward the guard.

"Stop right there, why are you out after dark?" The guard's voice reminded her of Ed and for an instance Carol faltered, but Andrea was behind that door.

"I'm new here. A patrol found me and my girlfriend today and brought us here. I was taking a walk and then I heard gunfire." Carol continued to move toward him slowly. He opened the door behind him just a bit so that he could see her. She channeled her inner flirt that she only used on Daryl, "I am afraid to go back that way. Maybe I can keep you company."

The guard looked her over and she could see that he was still a little suspicious. "I didn't hear anything about patrols finding some women."

Carol grinned, "The guys that found us wanted to keep us for themselves. They are busy now and I wanted to see what this place has to offer. You must be somebody in charge and I like to be with a man who has some power. You know what I mean?"

The guard smirked back, "I am the Governor's right hand man, but he doesn't want anybody down here". He looked at her again and she saw lust win out over reason. "How about you give me a taste of what you can do?" and he pointed to his groin.

Carol moved closer and used her left hand to pull his zipper down and she smiled at him while her right hand eased the knife out and then in on swift move cut his jugular. Blood spurted out and he fell down clutching his throat.

Jesse grabbed his feet and dragged him around the side of the building. Michonne and Carol darted into the warehouse and moved to the back portion where Merle had seen the secret room. Michonne had brought a pry bar and they quickly jimmied the locked door open.

The room was lit by a single hanging light and underneath that was a dentist chair. Andrea was tied onto the chair and her mouth was gagged. She had been beaten and she was bleeding from several wounds, but she was still alive. The Governor had been called away before it went too far.

Carol used her knife to cut Andrea loose and Michonne tore the gag away and gave her some water to drink. The plan was to get her away as quick as possible. Jesse was standing guard outside but the governor could be back at any minute. Carol grabbed the medical back pack that she carried and quickly wiped off any blood ignoring Andrea's cries of pain. She slapped duct tape bandages on and they put Andrea between them and half carried her to the door. Michonne knocked quietly on the door and Jesse answered, "Come on out".

Jesse took Andrea from them and they shut the door to the warehouse and moved back to the "back door" storage building. Daryl met them there. He had come back to make sure that Carol was alright and to see if Jesse could join them.

Carol hugged him and said "We have to get her out of here. We are going to go to the vehicle and then to the place that we were in today. I need to take care of her wounds before they get infected."

Andrea was in pain and shock but she wanted out of Woodbury now. "I can walk. Let's get out of here."

Michonne said to Jesse, "We got this. Carol and I can get to the suv and we'll meet you there later. Don't go be some damn hero". She kissed him quickly and he and Daryl moved toward the sound of gunfire.

Michonne undid the holding pin and slid the steel back far enough to slide out and she held out her hands to Andrea, "Let's get the hell out of here. Andrea". Andrea moved through awkwardly and Carol followed close behind. They were out in the dark with every walker in miles being drawn in by the sound of gunfire but took the time for a quick hug.

Michonne let the way. She had excellent night vision and instincts honed by many months of survival out here. Andrea hobbled more slowly but except for an occasional hiss of pain she made no complaint. Carol was last and she kept her knife ready and was able to bring down a walker that staggered out from behind a pine tree between Michonne and Andrea. Two followed them for a few steps but Michonne had turned and with one sweep of her katana swept their heads away.

Andrea had watched the decapitation with a smile, "Good times". The rest of the trip to the vehicles was uneventful but there was a group milling around the clearing that they had parked in. Michonne began drawing them to her as Carol escorted Andrea to the suv. Carol stabbed the walker waiting by the door with one hand and opened the door with the other. She closed the door in time to see a tall walker coming her way. There was a running board on the tall suv and Carol jumped up on that and stabilized herself by grabbing the cargo carrier with her left hand and using her right to stick the knife through his eye.

Michonne got the driver's door open, "Are you coming?"

Carol got in the driver's side and crawled quickly to the passenger side, "I'm good to go". Michonne shut the door and started the vehicle in one quick move. She maneuvered out toward the road and drove toward the rendezvous point. It was ten miles away and it was the now fully dark. There were walkers out on and along the road and she concentrated on keeping the vehicle moving toward their hideout.

Carol had bailed to the back seat and opened her medical supplies. She gave Andrea an injection of pain medication and another of a strong antibiotic that Merle had put in the pack. She used a small flashlight to check Andrea's wounds. The Governor had raped her from the looks of the bruising on her body. Andrea had bruising on her ribs and legs and some of those ribs might be broken. He had used a knife too but just enough to make her bleed. He wanted to instill terror and to make the experience last as long as possible. He had bitten one of her breasts hard enough to require stitching and Carol wished that she had gone with Jesse and Daryl. She would have liked to watch this man die.

Michonne asked, "How is she doing?"

Carol answered, "She is going to be alright. This woman is tough". Andrea managed to squeeze her hand and Carol put her other hand over hers. "I mean that Andrea. You are tough enough to get through this and you don't have to go by yourself. Michonne and I are going to take care of you. We are going to do whatever it takes to protect you."

Michonne saw the turnoff ahead. "Merle gave me the key to the building. If you can get it open, I'll drive it in and we wait there". The suv lights showed an open driveway and Carol took the key from Michonne and got the door open. Michonne pulled in and Carol locked the place from the inside.

They used blankets from the suv and an old dining room table to make Andrea a bed. Carol had brought a pair of sweatpants and a large button up blouse with her. She had scavenged these yesterday and packed them in case Andrea needed something. Carol helped Andrea out of her bloodied dirty clothes and washed her again with the baby wipes that were in the pack. Michonne had turned away when she saw the blood and the bruising and Carol knew that she was fighting back tears. Carol checked the wounds and cleaned them again and bandaged them more carefully. She threaded a sterile needle and motioned for Michonne to hold Andrea down and she stitched up her breast and the wounds on her arms and legs. Andrea gritted her teeth but the pain meds were kicking in and Carol moved quickly. Then she and Michonne dressed her in the sweat pants and put the loose shirt on her buttoned it up. Andrea had a cut on her cheek that she stitched up last. Carol knew there would be a faint scar there to remind all of them of this night.

They propped her up a bit and Carol kept encouraging her to drink water. They had turned off the battery lamp and were only using a solar light. Michonne held Andrea's left hand and Carol held her right. Michonne reached her other hand out to Carol and for a minute they just closed their eyes and breathed.

Andrea went to sleep and Michonne said that she would take watch if Carol wanted to sleep. Carol went to nap on the back seat of the suv. She thought about the night before when Daryl was in her bunk and how it had felt to be with him. She understood why that happened. Carol was still shocked that she had screwed Daryl in the kitchen before the run. Sex with Ed had been about his pleasure and her submission. She had never initiated sex with him. Today she decided that she wanted him and she had acted on that impulse. Something had happened to her when she was trapped in the closet. She wasn't afraid anymore.

Carol went to sleep for a few hours and checked her watch. There was still hours to go before daylight. She took watch and pushed Michonne toward the suv. Michonne nodded and Carol began checking Andrea's vital signs. Andrea was just getting over pneumonia and needed to recuperate somewhere better than this warehouse. She wasn't feverish and that was a good sign.

Michonne slept restlessly and finally she gave up on sleep. Andrea was still sleeping and Carol was keeping watch. It wouldn't be long before they could ease out of here and make for the compound. Merle's group wasn't here but they may have stayed in Woodbury. She refused to think that anything bad had happened. Somehow, she had faith in Merle. He had stood in this place yesterday and told them exactly where to go and what to do. Merle had qualities of leadership that she had never suspected. Merle wasn't going to let anything happen to Jesse because he was Christy's brother and he obviously loved Daryl. Oscar and Axel might be in trouble though.

Carol had hoped that Daryl would show up last night but Merle seemed determined to rid Woodbury of the Governor and his henchmen. He wanted certain people there to run the place and she figured that was going to take a while. Carol saw Michonne stretching after getting out of the suv and knew that she might be able to clear up some questions.

Michonne joined her beside of Andrea and put her hand on Andrea's forehead and she seemed relieved that Andrea didn't have a fever. "I understand that you and Merle were looking for Daryl but where did you find Christy, Caleb, and Jesse?"

"I think God has a strange sense of humor. Merle and I were being hounded down a dirt road by a herd of walkers. No place to go but forward and we came to a locked gate. We climbed the gate and saw that there was a strong fence around this place. We left our truck on the other side and began walking along a road and we got captured by Caleb and Jesse. They took us to Christy and she and Merle had been together twenty years ago when he was in the army. Caleb is Merle's son. Christy thought Merle had been killed on some secret mission and he thought that she had married someone else. Merle believe it or not adores her and apparently always has. Even more weird is that she is this beautiful kind woman who could have had her choice of men loves Merle. I can't imagine why." Michonne still found Merle and Christy a mystery.

Carol thought about it, "He is different now. Clean and sober. He loves her and he will protect her. That goes a long way these days. Maybe she could have had other men but the Merle that I saw today was a man willing to take on the Governor and Woodbury for no other reason except to right some wrongs. I saw the way he looks at her. She looks at him like he delights her. He wouldn't be boring."

Michonne decided to ask a question of her own. "So when did you and Robin Hood hook up? Merle was sure that Daryl was still alive and that he would make sure you were safe."

Carol was surprised that Merle would remember who she was. She had been a silent drudge at the quarry just trying to keep Ed from erupting. "Daryl and I were just friends until last night, but I have loved him far longer than that. We just moved into the prison a couple of weeks ago after seven months on the run. We lost two of our people this week, and life is a gift worth enjoying. I decided to enjoy it and I guess Daryl did too."

Carol decided to switch the subject to Michonne and Jesse. "Jesse is Christy's brother? He is so handsome with those beautiful blue eyes and that sweet smile. He is one of the nicest people I have ever met."

Michonne laughed, "Okay, I met him yesterday and slept with him last night. The man even sleeps pretty. He's a good man and I am never letting him go. I am usually one of those women who take forever to decide how I feel about people. I can honestly say that I love him."

Andrea opened her eyes and her voice was more of a croak, "I let you out of my sight for a few days and you run off with Merle and slept with the first man you ran into. Shit, I knew by the time the gate closed behind you that I should have gone with you. Don't rub it in by telling me that you found Mr. Perfect."

Carol propped her up and gave her some more water to drink. Andrea said,"I might be in pain, but hell girls, I want the dirt. Dish it out." Andrea sat up a little more and looked at them. Carol had changed since she had seen her almost get eaten by a walker at the farm. She was leaner, meaner, and knew how to fight now, but she was still kind and compassionate. Michonne had come back for her even after she had been an idiot about Phillip. These two were friends worth having.

Michonne said, "She isn't kidding; the woman wants to know the details". Michonne was so happy to see Andrea awake and cogent that she would tell her anything she wanted to know.

Carol blanched, "Daryl would have a heart attack if he thought I was telling you about our sex life."

Andrea turned to Michonne. "So Michonne?"

Michonne said, "The best I ever had".

Carol interrupted, It's getting light outside. I am going to give you another injection. We need to get moving toward Christie's. She has real medical training and if you are well enough to be nosy, then you are well enough to move."

Michonne helped Andrea up and they took turns visiting the pot at the back of the building. Carol unlocked the warehouse and sneaked a look out. No walkers out front. Carol and Michonne helped Andrea to the suv. Carol went back and grabbed their bags and closed the door and set the lock closed but not locked.

Michonne had settled Michonne in the back seat and was ready to go. Carol put their bags in the back and jumped in the front seat. The morning sun was starting to chase the morning mists away and Michonne drove west toward the compound. She looked back in the rear view mirror but didn't see Merle's truck coming. She did see Andrea falling asleep in the back seat. She turned to Carol and said, "Mission accomplished".

AN

**I hope you are curious about what the men have been doing all this time. I hate that Andrea was taken from the television show and I course corrected to make certain she is around to keep Michonne and Carol entertained.**

**I would appreciate a review.**


	11. Redemption Tour

**The women have gotten their job done. This chapter will concentrate on the mission to kill the Governor. This is an odd group, Merle, Oscar, Axel, Daryl, and Jesse. They don't want to bring Woodbury down; they want to change Woodbury.**

Redemption Tour

Merle led his team toward the Woodbury Town Hall and the Governor's Quarters. He had Oscar and Axel close to him and put Daryl on drag. He took a back alley approach and they moved quickly. It wasn't completely dark but the streets were empty. He entered the Town Hall from the back. They carrying automatic rifles but he was hoping to do most of this as quietly as possible.

The hallway was empty and they moved toward the front offices. This was where the Governor's soldiers hung out. The Governor might be with them. If he wasn't here he might be in his quarters or in the secret room.

Merle held his hand up to stop the men behind him and motioned for them to scatter out. He eased up to the open door to listen. He could hear one of the men say, "The Governor is down the street in the warehouse. He told me to tell you guys to wait here until he comes back."

Merle recognized the next voice as belonging to Martinez, "I am tired of this shit. I want out. Merle was the smart one. He is out and he can start over somewhere else. You do what you want to do. I don't care if it is almost dark. I am getting a truck and going out those gates. You can come with me but if you come after me I am going to kill you."

Merle smiled and waited to see if anyone would go with him. There was a chance that they would kill Martinez for trying to leave. He heard at least two sets of boots head his way. Merle turned and motioned for his band to stand down.

Martinez and Shumpert walked out into the hall. Merle gently closed the door behind them and Martinez started when he saw Merle and the other men but held his hands up. Merle said, "Are you ready to take on the Governor?" The two men nodded and Merle said, "It's going to get interesting here."

Merle motioned for Axel and told him to go on the street and give a burst of gunfire and then get behind cover. Merle ordered Axel to kill the Governor on sight. He told Daryl to take the back way and check on the women and get Jesse. He trusted Jesse to help him make decisions.

Daryl started back and heard the first burst of gunfire. Then he heard another longer burst. He moved as fast as he could but by the time he was back to the warehouse he saw Jesse and the women moving Andrea. Jesse agreed to come with him and they hurried back to the town hall.

Merle asked Martinez and Oscar to step in the room with him. He could hear the conversation going on inside and knew the Governor would be here any second. He hoped that Axel would kill him or at least shoot at him so that they would know that he was close.

Merle took a second or two to calm his nerves. He was trying to make up for some of the shit that he had done in this world but it wasn't going to be easy. He shook himself like a dog and held up his automatic weapon on the ready as he stepped into the room, "I'm back, motherfuckers".

The men inside turned their heads and at least two pointed their weapons at Merle. They were sitting together and he let out a burst of fire at them and Oscar used his weapon to cover the others. The two fell over and one of the soldiers that Merle trusted held his hand up and pointed to the bodies. Merle nodded and the other man moved to the bodies and put them down.

Another man went for his gun and Oscar shot him down. Martinez and Shumpert entered the room and said, "Make your choice. Either you join us and take down the Governor or be prepared to meet your maker. Drop all your weapons and step over there away from them" and he pointed to the other side of the big room.

Suddenly, they heard the clatter of weapon fire from outside and in the distraction another two of the men in the room went for their weapons. Martinez killed the man closest to him and Oscar took out the other. There were only four men left in the room and they dropped all their weapons and hustled to the other side. Merle, Oscar, and Shumpert left the room to meet the threat outside. They were met by a volley of weapon fire and they dropped to the floor and Merle rolled to the other side of the hall and broke through that door. The other men followed him and he could hear Daryl and Jesse approach from the rear of the hall.

Merle yelled, "Daryl, find some cover and don't let anybody in. Daryl kicked in a door and dragged out an office desk and turned it sideways. Jesse had stood up and put a burst of fire down the hall to push back some approaching fighters. Daryl and Jesse pushed the desk closer to the front of the hall.

Martinez went to the window and sent a warning message to the fighters outside. He was in it to win it now. No going back. He either defeated the Governor or he was dead in the water. One of the men said, "Let me help". Martinez knew him to be man who only worked inside the town to do maintenance work and he said, "Grab a weapon and move over here. Stay back from the window.

Jesse had went back to the back door and used another desk to block entrance from that direction. He positioned himself so that he could watch the stairwell and the other offices.

Merle saw that the rest of the Governor's men were advancing toward the building. He figured that they would throw in some fire bombs and drive them out. Merle looked at Oscar and Shumpert and said, "We have to get out now and get behind them. I am going out now. He knew the window opened out to a bush. Merle took a running start and went through the window. He landed on the bush and quickly rolled off to the left. Oscar was right behind him and they moved together toward the street. They were being fired upon but their jump had surprised the Governor's men. Merle and Oscar kept moving and shot out some lights so that the other side would be as much in the dark as they were.

The town fell silent. Merle had used his prep time with his team to tell them that they would try to take out the Governor and as many men loyal to him as possible. Then, they would take control of the town and turn it over to a civilian government. He knew there were good people here that didn't know the truth about the Governor.

Merle and Oscar moved to a hiding place that he had scouted out months ago. Those guarding the gates were continuing to stay on duty and had not joined in the fray. Merle was worried that the Governor might open the gates if he thought that he was losing control of Woodbury and he sent Oscar to make sure that didn't happen. Merle had been impressed with Oscar; he might have been a convict at the beginning of all this but he was a standup guy that you could trust to do the hard jobs.

Jesse, Martinez, Shumpert, and Daryl were still holding the town hall. They conferred in the hall way. They had moved enough office furniture to slow down any attackers. The weapons had been gathered. Martinez said, "Let's move upstairs. I know a way out from there."

Martinez took the three men who had surrendered and put them in an office and locked the door. He knew that they would be able to find their way out but he couldn't just kill them. He led the rest upstairs to the roof and grabbed a ladder that he had seen there the last time he had been there. It was now very dark but he maneuvered the ladder so that it formed a bridge between this building and the next. Jesse volunteered to be the first over and he crawled over in seconds. Jesse held the ladder on his side and Martinez came through next, then Shumpert and last Daryl came across and they pulled the ladder in.

There was the sound of an explosion from the front of the building and saw that it was on fire. Martinez led them to the next building and they used that ladder to the ground on the other side. Martinez moved this group left closer to the gates. They saw that the building was burning and it wouldn't be long until they knew that they had escaped.

They found Axel hiding behind a dumpster. He had shot at the Governor at the beginning and then hid. Martinez moved them toward the other side of the street and they found cover in an abandoned storefront. Daryl and Jesse moved upstairs and began firing at the fighters flooding into the burning building.

Merle had left his hiding spot and began to make his way to the Governor's apartment. He thought that the man might flee if he thought that he was losing Woodbury. He found a window that faced out onto the street and he could see the Governor point to the town hall and motion his men toward the building with fire bombs. The street lit up then and he saw a few figures move across the street and hoped it was Daryl and Jesse moving to another position. The Governor had ran when he saw that his men were being attacked from the other side and Merle waited for him in the dark hall.

Merle could hear the Governor run up the stairs. He moved so that he couldn't be seen in the light from the window. He wasn't going to make a dramatic speech before he killed him. Phillip Blake was a sneaky bastard and it was best to do it quickly. The Governor had locked his apartment and Merle stepped closer and shot him twice in the head with his pistol. He began dragging the body down the stairs and toward the street. The fighting was over out there and the last of the Governor's men had come out with their hands up. It was all over but the shouting.

Merle found Daryl and Jesse and hugged both of them. Martinez began to organize his men to protect the town. It was a long night as they waited until daylight to make any decisions. The next morning the citizens of Woodbury began to filter out of their homes and toward the main street. Martinez gave a short speech and every adult citizen of Woodbury had to take a tour of the Governor's apartment to view his wall of human heads and his imprisoned zombie daughter. Merle knew that that they needed to know what kind of man that their leader had been.

Martinez chose a group of citizens to lead the town. Karen, David, Milton, the town doctor, and a variety of others were chosen to make decisions for the town. Oscar and Axel had chosen to stay in Woodbury and in the early afternoon Merle, Daryl, and Daryl left Woodbury via the back door and made their way to their vehicle.

They checked the safe house and saw that there was evidence that the women had been there but were gone now. Daryl drove toward the compound and knew that he never wanted to see Woodbury again. Jesse had promised to send them some seeds to start gardens, but he wasn't going back either.

The sun was still high in the sky as they came toward the compound. Merle turned to the other two and said, "Mission Accomplished".

AN

I hated that they killed Oscar off in the show and I thought that he would have been a stand-up guy. Martinez gets to be a leader and Shumpert still doesn't get anything to say.

Give a review please.


	12. Starting Over

_**The Governor is dead. It didn't take two years and two stand-alone episodes for me to do him in. Woodbury is in my rear view mirror. Our gallant warriors are going to the compound to reunite with the others.**_

Starting Over

Merle looked through the windshield at the turnoff to the compound. It look like any abandoned road in Georgia but at the end of that road was a gate that would open and bring him back to Christie and Caleb. He was nervous; he had had time to rethink this new avenue in his life and start to worry that he just couldn't measure up to what they wanted him to be.

Daryl was biting his thumb and shifting restlessly in his seat. He didn't have a clue where they were going or where he was going to live from now on. Would they stay here or go back to the prison? He just wanted to see that Carol was alright. Carol was his lodestone; she kept him going in the right direction.

Jesse stopped the truck in front of the gate and found that Caleb and Beth were waiting to open it. He smiled; he had been sort of a substitute father to his sister's son and they had become even closer in the last year. Beth was a pretty girl and a nice walk in the woods would be a good way to learn more about each other. Maybe he and Michonne could take a walk this evening. He smiled again; he loved Christy and Caleb but knowing that Michonne was here made him happy at a different level.

Caleb waved them through and shut the gate behind them. They declined a ride back and Merle smirked a little to himself; Caleb wanted some time alone with this girl. He could relate because he wanted some time alone with his Christy too.

Finding time or space to be alone might be the first obstacle to face. Jesse's bedroom had become Beth and Judith's bedroom. Caleb's bedroom was Andrea's room. The downstairs den and living room was for Rick, Caleb, Carl, and Hershel. Michonne had claimed the screened in back porch for her and Jesse. There were two large tents in the clearing. Maggie and Glenn were in one and Carol and Daryl were taking the other. They were happy to learn that there was a complete bathroom on the bottom level and in case of bad weather the unfinished basement would be dry.

Christy, Carol, and Michonne had been planning dinner when they heard the truck coming through the woods. Jesse had bounded out of the truck and met Michonne on the front deck. He picked her up and whirled her around. Michonne surprised herself by bursting into tears and kissing him when he set her back down.

Merle came up next and just walked into Christy's arms. His face buried in her neck and his arms pulled her closer to him. The world outside of this place might be completely fucked but he was home now.

Daryl had come up last. He was still shy about expressing his feelings in front of all these people, but he had waited at the bottom of the steps because he was overwhelmed by relief that Carol was there smiling down at him. She was waiting for him and Daryl knew that he had been waiting for her his whole life. Waiting for her smile, her touch, her smell, her teasing, and for that indefinable something that made her Carol. He couldn't lift her up and whirl her around like Jesse with Michonne or sink into her embrace like Merle with Christie, but he stood at the top of the stairs and smiled at Carol. She smiled back and it was enough though he reached for her hand and they walked to the end of the deck together.

That evening was a blur to Daryl. There had been food and a shower and he and Carol had visited with Andrea. He sat in the chair beside her bed and let her warn him that if he didn't treat Carol right then she was going to sit his ass down in a bed of poison ivy. He laughed at that and told her that he would behave himself. Andrea looked like hell, face all beat up and she moved like it hurt to move but he told her all about Woodbury and she seemed at peace with what had happened.

Daryl had a few minutes with Rick and he seemed more peaceful here. He was spending more time with his baby that Carl had named Judith. Rick said that Carl was sulking because Beth and Caleb were hanging out together. Rick asked questions about Woodbury but didn't say anything about leaving.

Everyone hung out on the deck and talked that evening. Daryl sat with the others while Carol spent time with Andrea. Daryl watched Merle and Christie sitting close to each other and thought that Merle looked at peace with the world. Hershel was watching Caleb and Beth with a smile on his face. Rick had put Judith to bed and he was sitting with his arm around Carl. Maggie and Glenn had disappeared right after dinner. His people were safe here at least for now and Daryl felt himself relax.

Carl yawned and Rick went inside with him. Daryl sat and listened to the sounds of a Georgia forest in the summer. Carol came down after a while and Michonne left to go spend time with her. Carol had said good night to everyone and hand in hand they went to their tent.

It was an expensive family size tent large enough to stand up in and Carol had furnished it with an air mattress with sheets and pillows. There were bins for their clothes and the place looked orderly. His weapons were on top of a bin in easy reach and Carol's were on her side of the bed.

There was a solar lantern and Carol flicked it on low. Carol had kicked her shoes off at the entrance of the tent and he toed off his boots. Daryl sat down in the larger of the two chairs and looked at Carol who had sat down in the other chair. "I didn't know that I would miss you so much. It seems like months since we were together. I don't like being away from you." Daryl took Carol's hand again and kissed her palm.

Carol leaned back in her chair for a moment. "How do you like our new home?" and she waved her arm around to show the inside of the tent.

Daryl said, "It feels like a palace to me. Wouldn't you rather be in the house though? "

Carol laughed, "I wanted to be somewhere more private. I don't want everyone to hear us when we get together."

Daryl's face burned a little but he was past letting that stop him from enjoying teasing her for a change. "You got any game to go with that big talk?" He took off his shirt and hung it on his chair. He stood up and unbuttoned his cargo pants and pulled the zipper down and neatly folded his pants. Then, he pulled off his boxers and stood before her.

Carol had sat there a little stunned by Daryl's casual stripping. He almost seemed to enjoy the way she watched him. She had seen him naked in the bunk at the prison, but seeing him standing there was still a little shock. He seemed almost overpoweringly male and she could feel her body react to the sight of him standing there in front of her. His body was showing signs of his desire for her so she knew it was game time.

She stood up and began taking her clothes off more slowly and with less confidence than he had. Daryl just watched but his eyes said that she was beautiful to him. He waited until she was completely undressed before he kissed her. Carol closed her eyes so that she could concentrate on how it felt to kiss Daryl while they were standing with no clothes on. They moved to the bed.

"This is going to be quick, but I will make it up to you," Daryl murmured in her ear. Carol was relishing the feel of his body touching hers. He was kissing her and their tongues teased one another. She explored his body with her hands and she could feel his hand between her legs. His fingers caressed her there and she felt herself thrust into those fingers. He felt it too and she knew that he was struggling to give her pleasure and deny his own.

Daryl took his fingers away and kissed his way down her body paying some attention to her breasts but he reluctantly left them to his hand while he pushed her legs apart and moved his mouth there. He licked her there first and then used his tongue to find that small protrusion that was the center of her pleasure. Carol was glad that their tent was away from the house because she wasn't exactly silent. She let herself go with the current that her body demanded and when that was over. Carol brought him within her and she let him spend himself within her not surprised that her body reacted to him inside her with another round of release.

Daryl rolled over on his back and smiled at the ceiling of the tent. "What are you smiling at?" Carol asked as she rubbed her fingers against his nipple.

"You call my name when you come," he said. "You make a hell of a lot of noise too, but you say my name over and over."

Carol laughed, "I love you, Daryl. I might have spent some solitary sexual time thinking about being with you". She gave him a wicked smile and he thought about some of those solitary sexual times he had spent with her.

"This is better," he said.

TWD TWD TWD

Michonne had talked with Andrea until she got sleepy. "You don't have to baby sit me, Michonne. I am safe here and I am ready to go to sleep. Go have a good time with Jesse." Michonne had went downstairs and had passed Rick on the way up.

"I am just going to say goodnight to Andrea", Rick said and Michonne remembered Andrea's secret crush on Rick.

Rick knocked on Andrea's door. "Andrea, it's Rick. May I come in?"

Andrea said, "Come on in. The place is like Grand Central Station." Rick had already seen her bruises and wounds when they brought her in so she didn't have to feel bad about how she looked.

Rick sat down beside the bed, "Just wanted to see if you needed anything before I went to sleep".

Andrea could tell that he was trying to distract himself from thinking about Lori. Carol had told her about the horrific way that Lori had died and that Rick wasn't handling it very well.

Andrea could hear the loud unmistakable sounds of Merle Dixon approaching climax. She looked at Rick and they both burst into laughter. "Wouldn't you know that he would make a lot of noise?" Rick said.

Andrea giggled, "I am going to demand another room assignment".

"Good luck with that. I have Caleb, Carl, and Hershel as roommates. I think I am going to sneak out to the living room". Rick said.

"Damn, I just thought of the living room". Andrea laughed and then got more serious, "He does love her you know."

Rick snickered, "You are going to know all about that love. I'll let you get some sleep. Are you coming downstairs tomorrow? I want to show you my baby girl." He got up then and patted her hand and left her. Andrea went to sleep thinking about going downstairs and seeing a baby girl.

TWD TWD TWD

Jesse was sitting on one of the rockers on the porch. "Sorry that you lost your room" Michonne said.

Jesse had turned and smiled at her, "Our room, but the baby needs to be someplace that she can rest. I can sleep anywhere. Let's just sit awhile and talk."

Jesse talked to her about Woodbury. He had never killed a person before last night and it weighed on him. "I am not sorry that I did it, but it pisses me off that with so few people left that it was necessary."

They sat on the swing and talked for a while. Michonne had been on a run for days now. She needed to settle and Jesse gave her kindness and attention until she was ready for intimacy. Michonne had never met anyone quite like Jesse. He had a stillness about him; he wasn't always talking or fidgeting. She wasn't surprised to learn that he like to hunt and he could name every plant and tree in the forest and enjoyed just walking with him this evening. She loved to look at him and was learning to love the inner Jesse as much as the handsome outer Jesse.

"No more talking, " Michonne said decisively.

Jesse's solemn face transformed to a grin. "I thought all women wanted men to open up and share with them?"

Michonne kissed his ear and ran her tongue around it. "Haven't you figured out that I am not all women yet? I want to share something else right now?"

Jesse said, "That works for me. I know that you aren't all women but I am glad that you are all woman". He picked her up from the swing and carried her to their mattress and gently placed her on their bed. "I love you, it's nice to have a woman around to protect me when I need it."

She laughed, "I love you too, Farmer Man".

TWD TWD TWD

Merle and Christie had been talking for hours and she had fallen asleep with her head on his shoulder. Merle was afraid that he was getting too dependent on having Christie and Caleb in his life already. He had had a talk with Caleb about Beth feeling like the world's greatest hypocrite. He had reminded Caleb that in this world now you didn't play with other people's feelings. Caleb had assured him that he really liked Beth. Merle has basically hung out in the kitchen while Christie cooked dinner just so that he could see her and talk to her. He has forgotten how much he liked just talking with Christie. It was damn scary to have so much of your happiness wrapped up in someone else.

Merle found himself asking God to protect the people in this house. He hated that he was so weak that he couldn't depend on his own self to take care of them. He hated that the thought of something happening to the Old Man and the Baby made him a little crazy. He felt like the damn Grinch, his heart had been sizes too small and he was beginning to think that it was growing too fucking big now. He couldn't help himself; he recited the name of every one that slept within or near this house and he asked for help to be able to do what needed to be done.

AN

Merle could quote scriptures easily. I suspect that his Grinch heart was always the right size. He just had to be the right situation for it to show itself. It is my story and Merle can ask for help if I want him too.

Hope you liked the Caryl action. It was time, my peeps.

The muse is pondering where we go from here. How about a review?


	13. Getting Lost

**There is going to be a lull in the action. These two groups need to meld together a bit and make some decisions about their situation. The prison group has been on the run for many months and the prison offers strong walls and lots of room. The compound is more hidden but it isn't quite big enough for all of them. Do you go or do you stay? There are references in this chapter to "Lost" but you'll understand it even if you aren't a "lostie".**

Getting Lost

The next few days fell into a predictable routine of work and play. They all woke up early and took advantage of the cooler temperatures in the morning to work in the garden and to do outside work. The afternoon were spent doing chores and on runs.

Merle had emerged as a leader among the men and he suggested that they keep runs out at minimum. He had Caleb draw a map of their surroundings and they divided it into sectors and the teams began to search each area to make sure that there were no surprises. The only three people not on teams were Andrea, Hershel and Judith and Merle kept teasing Hershel that he was going out. Teams carried radios, camera, and one member of the at least four person team was the recorder and was expected to bring back copious notes on their sector. Teams could scavenge if the place was safe enough but Merle was primarily interested in information.

The evenings were spent with the group. Jesse had brewed beer weeks before they got there and everyone could have a beer or two in the evenings. Hershel frowned on Beth drinking a beer but didn't say anything to her. Beth had never gone through a teenage rebellion phase and maybe she wanted to be recognized as an equal to the others. She still tended Judith a good deal but the run schedule put her in the mix with the others. Andrea was not strong enough for the runs but she and Hershel became Beth's primary caretakers after Rick and Carl.

Andrea was in love with Judith, but Judith was easy to love. She had a cheerful happy disposition that had driven Daryl remark to Carol that he didn't know who the daddy was but he wasn't sure Judith belonged to Lori either. Judith was willing to coo and laugh at almost everyone but she was a daddy's girl. Her eyes seemed to focus on Rick before anyone else, but Andrea was the one who seemed best at putting her to sleep at night and comforting her on those rare storms of displeasure. Judith seemed to relax into Andrea and let her voice talk her down from her tantrum or off to dreamland. Andrea loved Judith with a fierceness that surprised her. She had never felt this kind of love before; she had not thought herself capable of such intense maternal feelings. Andrea understood now how much pain Carol and Michonne had gone through when they had lost their children. Andrea was healing from the wounds inflicted by the Governor and her own inner directed anger that she had been so incredibly stupid. Judith was catalyst for her renewal; Judith needed her and she needed Judith. Judith would curl around her body and Andrea would find herself letting go of things that could not be changed.

TWDTWD

Merle was on a run with Carol, Michonne, and Beth. (Sissy, Little Sister, and Baby Sister)They were going through a farmhouse that had been cleared before but hadn't been scavenged. Merle considered every run a training run. He wanted to make sure that Baby Sister knew how to take care of herself and knew that Sissy and Little Sister would keep her safe but not overprotect her.

Carol had went through the medicine chest and scored some useful antibiotics and medications to treat high blood pressure. Michonne and Merle were going through the outbuildings looking for tools, fuel, or anything useful. Beth had checked out the pantry and boxed up the food. Carol and Beth were making a last run through of the house and recording it when Beth found a boxed set of all the seasons of Lost in a gift bag. Beth held it up, "Did you ever watch Lost?" Carol shook her head and Beth grabbed the bag and put it in a box to be carried outside.

Later, after the loot was stored away, Beth grabbed the gift bag and carried it upstairs. Christy and Jesse were cooking dinner and Merle was hanging out with them. Andrea and Glenn were sitting on the counter stools and the mood was cheerful and relaxed.

"Have anyone of you watched "Lost"? Beth asked. There was a chorus of "no" except for Christy who dried her hands and picked up the box. She had watched every episode and bought each season's DVD. Christy had cried at the last episode and had for the first and only time called the telephone number that Merle had given her all those years ago. She wanted to talk to someone who remembered Merle Dixon. The number was out of service and Christie had finally hung the phone up and let herself cry one more time because Merle was gone.

Merle was watching Christie's face as she checked out the box. There were baby tears at the corner of her eyes and she had blinked them back and then given him a full on frontal look of love. Christie was usually circumspect with him in front of the others, and he wondered what was in those DVDs that triggered that look. He put his arm around her and she put her arm around his waist and pulled him closer.

Glenn and Andrea had opened the box and Merle had picked up a brochure that showed the different characters on the show. "Hey, there is a Chinaman on the show, Glenn". Merle liked to razz Glenn.

Glenn's parents had watched the show and he knew who Jin was. "He isn't Chinese, he's Korean". He waited for the punch line from Merle and it came, "Whatever".

Merle looked at the main characters, "I don't see any hot Black women. I love me some hot Black women". He liked to agitate Christie too. He might be a new improved Merle but he was still Merle.

Michonne had come in and was going through the DVDs. She laughed because she knew Christie was going to smack Merle back down and it came right on cue. "Boy, you better change that to some to a in that bold statement or you're going to love sleeping in a tent".

Merle pretended to be crestfallen but his eyes were dancing, "I love me a hot Black woman, and I always will."

Christie said, "Now try not to be offensive for at least an hour". She kissed him because he was standing beside her in the now and not just a memory from her past.

Glenn remembered having to set the vhs tape recorder on "Lost" so that his parents could watch it together. His dad worked late at his store and came home late at night. His parents would make him set it up and they would sit side by side on the couch and watch it all the way through and never even hit the ff button on commercials. There were tears in his eyes as he stood there wondering why he had not sat down one time and watched it with them. "Let's watch the pilot episode tonight".

That evening they all gathered in the living room and began their journey through "Lost". They ate stale peanuts and drank beer and were hooked from the pilot episode and watched three more episodes. It was getting late and there was work tomorrow.

There was a light rain falling when Carol and Daryl walked to their tent. Carol had the delicious thought of being with Daryl while the rain fell gently against the roof of the tent. It was just what she imagined until the rain decided to pound against the tent and they found that their tent leaked big time. They had to move the mattress to get out of the downpour and by then they were wet and a little cold. Eventually they found a dry corner of the tent and they curled up beside each other, "Is this the part we share body heat so we don't have hyperthermia?" Carol asked.

Daryl snickered, "No, this is the part where we have sex because the rain pounding against the roof is making me horny".

Carol said, "It's late and you and Merle were supposed to go hunting tomorrow morning early. I think you should get some sleep."

Daryl countered with, "It's going to rain all night. Merle hates to hunt in the rain."

Carol smiled when Daryl began to kiss her, "Me, too. The horny part not the hunting part". Daryl laughed because he knew that she was telling him that she wanted him the way he wanted her.

Daryl fell asleep and Carol thought about "Lost". She thought that Daryl was like Jin. He had been the practical one who had found a way to fish and provide food. Jin seemed angry at first and couldn't communicate but she knew he loved Sun. She knew that Sun was more than a submissive wife though.

Merle told Christie that she had the strength of a Rose but was way more hot than Rose and he suspected that he was more like the little junkie Charlie than anyone else. Christie had laughed and said, "I think you are more like Sawyer. All big and bad and tough, but hiding your good behind a cover of snark". Merle laughed, "He's good-looking and he's going to get Kate so I'll take that". Christie just laughed and pulled him close. She wanted him again because watching the show had brought back the feeling that she had at the last episode. The lonely feeling that only snarky Merle Dixon could take away.

TWDTWD

It was still raining the next day and by noon they were back watching the show. They identified with the hopeless feelings of the island group and the terror of being killed at any time. The next day was a little drier and it was evening before they watched.

And so it went on for a week as they grabbed every opportunity to watch the show. They exulted at each victory, grieved at every loss, and shared the fear that a monster of some type was waiting at every turn. They found the last season somewhat confusing and the ending didn't please everyone.

Andrea was rocking Judith to sleep in the living room. She was now sleeping in the room with Beth and the baby and Jesse and Michonne were in Caleb's old room. Everybody had left. It was still a little light outside and Beth and Caleb were "checking the gates" and polite euphemism for what everyone but Hershel knew was going on between the two of them.

Rick asked, "Did you like the way it ended?" He noticed that the bruises were almost faded away on her face and the cut on her cheek was starting to heal. There would always be a faint scar he thought but she was almost more beautiful because of it.

Andrea rocked Judith and thought about it, "It is a romantic ending, but it was still sad in that they had lived so long with regrets."

Rick nodded, "I was out on a run today with Merle. We ran into a nest of walkers and it was intense for a bit. I was afraid that I wasn't going to get back here to my family and I think he felt the same way. Eventually we got back to the truck and I drove out to an open spot and we sat in the tail gate of the truck and calmed down."

"Merle told me that he was never going to take Christie for granted. That every day with her was a gift. He told me to grieve that I lost someone that I loved but not to fall in love with grief. Merle said that he had when he lost Christie and it had been an excuse for every shitty thing he had done in the past. He had wallowed in his pain and that wallows suck you in and they are hard to crawl out of."

Andrea looked at Rick. He had seemed more settled in the last few days. She got the feeling that he had taken Merle's talk to heart but needed somebody to talk to. "Merle is a happy man. He has Christie, Caleb, and Daryl. He lives every day like it is his last and enjoys the hell out of it. Sometimes he enjoys it loudly as Michonne and Jesse probably know by now".

Rick laughed and said, "She's asleep now. I'll put her in her crib". She held out Judith and he took the baby and carried her to her crib. Andrea went outside to the deck. Rick laid Judith in her crib and she stayed asleep" There wasn't much room between the crib and the bed and he knew that Andrea slept on this side so that she could tend to Judith when she woke at night. There was a nightgown on her side and he had a sudden thought of her in that gown and was horrified that it made him hard to think about it. He and Lori had not been together since the farm and that was almost a year ago. It was a natural reaction of a lonely man to a beautiful woman he thought to himself, but he found himself heading toward the deck after a stint in the bathroom. Andrea was sitting on the deck and he asked her if she wanted to go for a walk.

Andrea had given him a teasing look, "Now, we are talking about a walk. I am sure that the gates are fine".

He laughed, "Just a walk, but we better go the opposite direction from Caleb and Beth. Hershel and Carl are playing chess and they are listening for Judith".

They walked along the road to the other side of the compound. They stopped talking when they got close to Carol and Daryl's tent and hurried past, "It's always the quiet ones that you have to watch out for", Andrea commented. "Good on them. They deserve to be happy and from the sound of things they are pretty damn happy about now."

Rick laughed, "If the tent is rocking, don't come knocking. I would put that on the side of the tent, but Daryl would probably put an arrow in my ass".

They walked to the other gate and stood there and talked for a while about Judith and Carl. They finally started back. Andrea had been housebound since she got here and she noticed that it was getting really dark and their steps were slower instead of faster. It did feel good to be hanging out with Rick and just kidding around. They stopped talking as they came closer to Carol and Daryl's tent and waited until they got back to the house before they started giggling. Jesse and Michonne were sitting on the deck and Andrea said to Michonne, "Carol and Daryl are enjoying a little unquiet time now".

Michonne shook her dreadlocks, "Damn, we're going to have to find a house with soundproof walls before winter." She made a mental note to give tease Carol tomorrow during weapons class if she slacked off any.

Jesse and Rick began talking and Michonne and Andrea had a private conversation about "Randrea". Andrea said, "It was just a walk. He is a little lost at times and needs somebody to talk to ".

Michonne gave her a knowing look, "Don't shit me girl. I know you liked him from the get-go."

Andrea smiled, "He's grieving what he lost with Lori, but I don't think he will wallow in it forever".

TWDTWD

Carol and Daryl had talked over the ending when it was over. They had sat outside their tent. Daryl had wanted a happier ending but Carol had understood that it was a happy ending just not a conventional one.

"I love you Carol. I know that you would be the one I would be with at the end." Daryl said gruffly. "

"I love you too. Daryl. How about we go inside and you can be with me now?" Carol wanted to connect with Daryl on every level this evening and physical was always a good way to start.

TWD TWD

Everyone had watched every episode of the show and some time or the other they had looked at someone they loved and seen qualities of the characters on the show. They never watched it again but it had brought all of them closer and more forgiving of one another.

AN

I think I will go did out my Lost dvd and watch an episode or two.

I know its early to write Rick and Andrea but I like Rick a whole lot better in Season Three and the one they foisted on us in Season Four.

I must admit that I truly love Mistie.

Give a review and tell me if you think it is too early for Randrea.


	14. A Forever Home

A Forever Home

Everyone met on the deck after dinner; it was time to discuss their future. Merle, Michonne, Maggie, Beth, and Hershel had gone on a run today to the Greene farm. Merle had wanted to settle there and he wanted Hershel to see it and decide if it was doable. Merle had noticed that the road was clearer of debris and a spot where a tree had fallen almost in the road had been cleared. He directed Michonne to turn the vehicle around and find a hidden spot. They parked close to a place that Hershel knew overlooked the farm. They all stood on the hill and watched as a large group plowed, cut back brush, built fences, and generally showed no signs to leaving soon.

They had walked back to the suv mindful of how difficult a walk it was for Hershel in so many different ways. He moved slowly with his crutches and Merle and Michonne walked on either side letting him set the pace.

Merle felt bad that they hadn't claimed the farm right off, but he wasn't sure that they could have kept it. He had counted eleven men out working and there were women working in the fields and in the house. Children were working alongside the adults. There were probably others on runs for materials. The farm was lost to them now.

Maggie and Beth held hands as they walked. The farm had been home to Greenes for generations but they had been through too much in the last year to let this devastate them. There were other places and other farms.

Dinner had been quiet and nothing was said until the table was cleared and the washing up was done. They gradually assembled on the front deck and into their favorite spots. Carol, Daryl, Merle, Michonne, Jesse, Andrea, and Christie formed a group. Hershel, Maggie, Glenn, Beth, and Caleb sat together. Rick was in the rocker with Judith and Carl sat at his feet.

Merle stood up and wished he could find some words of wisdom but figured he would go with honest truth. "I think that you are the best warriors I have ever served with in any fight, and we might be able to take that farm back but it isn't worth any of your lives. I love every inch of this house, but it doesn't have enough farmland to support us forever and I am looking for a forever home. What do you want to do?" He sat back down and grabbed Christie's hand.

Hershel stood up, "I looked out at my family farm today and it hurt to see others plowing and putting it back to use. I wanted to be the one doing that, but then I understood. That land is going to support many families and they were making it a farm again. We need to find our own place and start our own farm. There is land enough, but is this the right place? The climate is so warm here that the walkers last too long. Georgia has too many big cities and that causes more walkers. Don't stay here because of me. I can limp along anywhere we go."

Jesse stood up, "I taught agricultural science at Virginia Tech so I am an overeducated farmer. I have seeds and Daryl and I took some to Woodbury. I would like to take some to that farm and leave them where they can find them. Just call me Jesse Appleseed, but I want humanity to go back to providing for themselves. I want you to think about relocating farther north. It's colder in the winter and that might knock back the walkers a bit." He sat back down.

Christie stood up. "Jesse and I are from Virginia and grew up on a farm close to the West Virginia line. That feels like home to me. West Virginia is hilly but there are farms there. Not a lot of people and cold weather in the winter. Lots of wildlife for hunting too." She sat back down.

Merle said, "We don't have to make any rash decisions. Going north would be a risk. There are lots of empty farms here. Why don't we think about it tonight and talk again in the morning."

The group began to split itself off into splinter groups. Jesse turned to Michonne, "Would you go with me to Virginia and West Virginia? I want to know if there is a place for us there. I know that it's dangerous to travel but it is dangerous to stay put too. Marauders could find this place at any time and I don't see how we could defend it. We only made it this far because we just hunkered down and stayed put. We were out of food when you all showed up."

Michonne took his hand, "Jesse, I'll go with you. This place was a godsend and a small group might survive here for a long time, but it's a death trap if another group wants it."

Daryl and Carol looked at each other, he nodded at her, and "Daryl and I will go with you. We will be ready in the morning "Carol said. She wasn't afraid to go anywhere as long as she could go with Daryl.

Andrea said, "I want to go too. I am better and I don't want to be left behind again".

Michonne shook her head, "You aren't completely well; you need to be somewhere safe."

Andrea said, "That is why I am going with you. You and Carol will protect me. Jesse and Daryl will protect you."

Rick had been listening. "I have traveled through there on the way to Pennsylvania to visit Lori's grandparents. Let me go with you".

Caleb wanted to go but he knew that too many men couldn't go. "I'll take care of Carl and Beth and I will look after Judith. We need to have some way to communicate."

Glenn said, "There is a short wave in the basement and we found another one on a run. We can configure them to hit each other's signal and use those solar panels to keep enough power to transmit."

The next morning, one loaded down suv left the compound headed north toward hills of West Virginia. They would be searching all the way for a place and maybe they would wind up in the Carolinas, Tennessee, or Virginia.

TWD TWD TWD

Daryl and Carol had talked the night before in their tent as they packed to leave. Daryl said, "I have never been out of Georgia or had a vacation, but this is my year to try new things". He picked up her nightgown which was a long t shirt and waved it at her.

Carol laughed, "Some part of me knows that we should settle down here in Georgia, but another part wants to start over in a new place. I am glad that Andrea is going with us but I was surprised that Rick jumped in."

Daryl said, "Rick wants to try new things too, and I think he wants Andrea."

Carol was horrified, "Lori just died. He is devastated. How can you say that?"

Daryl knew that Carol had loved Lori like a sister, "Rick loved Lori but he was so busy taking care of the group that he never took the time to forgive her and get their marriage back on track. They didn't have sex and they didn't talk to each other. Lori dies and Rick starts losing his marbles. Then Merle and Michonne blew in and changed everything. Rick gets relocated to here and there isn't anything here that haunts him. I know that it is too soon for him to be with anyone else and Big Rick knows that, but little Rick wants Andrea. His dick is talking to Rick and sometimes it has a way of making itself heard.'

Carol thought about those long lonely nights when they had been on the run. Maggie and Glenn would take watch together for some private time. Lori and Rick had slept apart and the distance between them had grown longer every day. She decided to concentrate on enjoying their last night in the tent. Privacy would probably be impossible on this trip. "What did little Daryl say to Big Daryl to put you in my bunk that night?"

Daryl threw a few more things in his pack. "Little Daryl really hates to be called little by the way. Little Daryl wanted you from the quarry. He would make Big Daryl know that at the most inconvenient times. Big Daryl isn't very smart. He was afraid that he would hurt you and that he wouldn't know how to be with a good woman. Little Daryl kept telling him to just let him take care of that part, but Big Daryl wouldn't listen. I thought that I had lost you in the tombs and even then I would have stayed away. Hershel came to tell me that you were doing fine and he told me that life was precious and not to waste any more of it. I heard everything he said and I stayed that night in your cell because I wanted to be the one you saw when you woke up and to be honest I stayed because I wanted to have sex with you. I wanted to feel you alive and warm in my arms and I did."

Carol didn't want to think about the tombs." Let's take a walk around the compound. It has been a wonderful place to shelter and I want to see it all before we go. I think we are going to find what we are looking for somewhere out there. I want to watch the sunset from the deck with the others and then I want to come back here and let little Daryl and little Carol have their way with each other."

Daryl thought about trying to talk her out of the walk and the sunset visit but knew it wasn't happening, even little Daryl knew it was a lost cause. He was fine with waiting. A long walk with Carol and spending a little time with the ones they were leaving behind was alright too. "Okay, but you are giving little Daryl time to think ways to explore you."

Carol said, "I think I am up to the challenge."

TWDTWD

Andrea was at cross purposes. She had volunteered to go with the others because she realized that she was beginning to care too much for Rick. She needed some space from him; he was still grieving Lori. She hated to leave Judith but she was getting too attached to her too. Now Rick was going and that would defeat her purpose to stay away from him. She had been relieved to know that she wasn't pregnant from being with the Governor, and she must be the only woman in the world who got raped and still wanted sex. Andrea thought that what she really wanted was sex with a gentle man who cared about her. She knew Rick wanted her and this trip would put them on a collision course with each other.

TWD

Michonne was lying in Jesse's arms, "Jesse Appleseed? Are we going to travel around and plant apple orchards?"

Jesse traced a line from her forehead to her lips. "A strong woman like you can dig big holes and carry lots of water." He kissed the line that he had made and kissed her lips over and over until she opened her mouth to him.

Michonne gave a low moan and he began tracing that line to her breast and she knew that she was going to always love Jesse Appleseed". She did smack his ass for his smart ass comment but that was partly because she liked doing that. His lips left hers and began tracing that line to the breast while his hand began tracing a line to between her legs. She loved the feel of his smooth skin against hers and she gasped with pleasure as his hand slid between her legs.

TWD TWD TWD

Merle and Christie were standing by the suv when they left the next day. Merle hugged Daryl hard and said, "I love you, Little Brother". He kissed Michonne on the cheek and said, "Little Sister, take care of yourself out there." Merle looked at her again, "You make a hell of a sister. Don't fuck up out there". Merle hugged Carol, "Take care of these two losers, Sissy". She nodded blinking back tears.

Christie had hugged everybody goodbye. The others all hugged everyone goodbye and in an instant they were going out the gates and out into a world of danger and of endless possibilities.

AN

**I know that Andrea and Rick have no business being on this trip, but the muse said that they were going. Andrea belongs with Carol and Michonne and Rick was always running off and leaving his kids behind. Animal shelter try to find "forever homes" for their animals and I have always liked the phrase. **


	15. Traveling

**It's a road trip as the first wave of our group moves to find a new home for all of them. The others that stay behind will begin the process of packing up and getting ready to go. Merle is going to have his way with Christie so if you don't want that, skip the last part. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing from The Walking Dead. I have no claim to anything but my imagination. This story has almost no connection to any current storyline.**

Traveling

Michonne drove and Daryl looked for potential problems. The second row had Rick and Jesse who were checking out the map. Carol and Andrea sat in the last row and were keeping an eye out for any unwanted followers. The group had decided that they would keep to the west of the big cities and then skirt along the edges of the mountains going north.

The solar panels were attached to the roof of the vehicle so that there would be power tonight to fire up the short wave radio to have contact with the home group. The rural roads were relatively clear and the group began to relax as they moved along.

Carol and Andrea chatted comfortably while they continued to monitor the area. Their weapons were on the ready and they didn't deceive themselves that this would be easy.

Michonne had pulled off the road and parked behind a barn. She was missing Merle; this group was way too civilized. Merle would have committed numerous misdemeanors by now and an occasional felony. She had traveled over a half a year with only Andrea but she was worrying about the others before half a day was over.

They ate their cold lunch and then took a few minutes to stretch their arms and legs. Carol had barely glanced at the map; she was letting the others choose the path. She had traveled too little to know much about highways. Jesse had traveled a good deal in North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia for a job he had years ago. He had laughed and said that he knew every two lane highway in those states. Daryl seemed content to let the others find their path and he stood guard as the women used the old barn as a restroom.

They were soon on their way and they moved along at a fairly good pace. Daryl drove and Rick moved up to the front seat and Jesse and Michonne sat together in the second seat. They had been traveling for another hour before Carol saw a truck that was tipped on its side and down an embankment on a road that intersected with the one that they were traveling. It was over 200 yards away but it looked like the kind of truck that used to deliver gas to service stations. Carol asked Daryl to go back and check it out.

Daryl turned around and drove back. He parked in the road and he and Rick approached the truck cautiously thinking that it might be a trap. Rick stood guard while Daryl went down toward the creek bed. The truck had not been there for a year. It would have been drained of the gasoline months ago. There was no fuel in the creek and the tank sounded full. Why would a fuel truck be running out here a year after this began?

There was enough fuel here to take them anywhere they wanted to go. Daryl climbed out of the creek bed and waved the others closer. He went back down and crawled into the cab of the truck to take out the walker dressed in army fatigues. Daryl grabbed a highway map and some papers and kicked his way out of the windshield.

Daryl brought the map and papers up the bank and spread them out on the hood of the suv. Rick and Jesse crowded around. The driver had traced his route with a red line. He was headed toward a highway in North Carolina that moved toward Virginia. The final destination seemed to be in the somewhere to the north of that as the line stopped at the Virginia line.

Jesse had been going through the papers. The papers were from the Provisional Government of the Virginias ordering the driver to move the fuel to the highway in North Carolina to assist in "resettlement of the Virginias". It appeared that the Virginias were working together to bring survivors to the Virginias to settle on small farms. Jesse was elated; they needed to get to that place and they would be aided in resettlement.

The others were more suspicious but in the end they were willing to move toward that highway. Andrea said, "We need to get in contact with the home group and have them leave now and come toward us." Her heart leapt at the thought of seeing Judith again.

Rick said, "I'll go look for a truck and every gas can I can find. Come on, ladies, We'll take the suv. It will only attract attention here."

Daryl and Jesse began trying to hide the truck from view. Jesse pulled down the solar panels and set them up in an overgrown field beside the road. He took the short wave radio out as well and put it in the tall brush so that it was out of sight. He and Daryl began to use machete to cover up the truck from view while Rick pulled out with the women.

Michonne drove back to a small town that they had just passed through. Now they were looking for a heavy duty truck that they would carry as much gasoline as possible. Rick grabbed one of the full cans on the way out. Daryl had taken Carol's hand before she left, "I'll have to call you Hawkeye from now on. Watch your ass out there."

Carol had smiled at the nickname and had given his hand a squeeze. "I'll look both ways before I cross the street. Don't light any matches out here and blow yourself sky high."

It didn't take long to find a truck with keys still inside it. Rick and Michonne got the gas in and the engine started. Rick drove the truck and they began to look for gas cans. It took longer to find a big quantity of gas cans but they searched farmhouses and barns for containers to store gasoline in. It was late afternoon before they got back to the others.

Jesse and Daryl had camouflaged the fuel truck and gotten in contact with the compound. They were leaving before dawn the next morning and they would be traveling as fast possible. They hoped to be here by noon. Daryl had cleaned out a house just up the road and found a propane grill with a nearly tank.

Daryl and Jesse had found empty gas containers in an outbuilding and started the process of getting the gas out. Jesse had looked around the truck and tank until he figured out how to get it to go. He hated that some gas was spilling into the creek. The others carried the filled containers to an outbuilding. The sun was sinking fast and they tried to move quickly.

They left the site at dark with all their containers filled. The other group would be bringing more gas cans but there was enough here to take them to Canada if they wanted to go that far. They filled their new truck up last.

They ate spaghetti that night. Carol had found the pasta and sauce in the pantry and she made enough so that everyone had all they could eat. There had been a neglected herb garden by the kitchen door and she found a few stragglers that had made it through. There was an old well house and she was able to "prime" it enough to bring up enough water to boil the pasta. They all took turns pulling up the bucket for enough water to wash the dirt and gas smell off them.

They blocked out the windows and went to sleep with Daryl on first watch. The women slept close together in the middle and the men slept to the outside. Daryl saw that the space beside Carol was empty and he scooted close to her. Carol was awake and she put her hand on his shoulder. "Everything quiet out there?" she whispered.

Daryl turned toward her. "It was alright." He leaned over and kissed her. "Tell me goodnight". Carol kissed him gently on the lips and said, "Good night". Daryl smiled to himself. They were in treacherous waters and he had no clue what tomorrow would bring but the person that he loved was by his side and they would welcome the next day together.

TWD TWD

Daryl went hunting the next morning and brought back enough meat to supplement the noon day meal. Merle's group was on their way and every heart here was waiting to see the ones that they had left behind.

Merle didn't get much sleep the night before they left. He was consumed with anxiety about the trip. He second guessed ever decision and anguished over possible outcomes. Christie had finally went in search of him and found him checking through their packed supplies. "Merle, what are you doing?"

He had turned to her, "Just checking to see if we packed those batteries that were in the storage shed."

Christie shook her head, "You were right beside me when I put them in the truck. Caleb is on watch right now. You need some rest. Now come on." She held her hand out.

Merle knew he was too wound up to sleep. "Go on to bed, I'll be there when I get calmed down".

Christie laughed, "I don't want you calmed down. I want you all wound up and jumpy. You do your best work when you are manic."

Merle remembered that from now on there wasn't going to be a whole lot of sex. Christie wanted him now. He crossed to her and said, "So you wanna screw around? Let's go check those damn gates that Caleb and Beth monitor so much."

Christie had planned to go upstairs to their room but she caught a little of his wildness and said, "Sure, let's go to check the gates."

Merle grabbed her hand and they walked down the moonlit path toward the gates. They didn't talk but as they approached the small clearing where the gate joined the fences Merle stopped and kissed her. At first he was more gentler than usual and then they both sank into the kiss. "You know that I am going to take you against a tree, right?"

Christie nodded, "Don't think I do this with everybody I meet and this maybe a one time deal depending on much tree bark burn I get and whether I like it or not".

Merle looked around the clearing and saw a big beech tree. "That's the one." They moved over there and Christie was starting to look a little like she wanted to bolt for the house, "I think I hear a walker out there."

Merle kissed her and pulled her top off and undid her bra. "That walker has to find his own woman. You are going to be occupied for a while. The only moaning I want to hear is ours". He had dropped his bayonet arm off and Christie pulled his shirt off and unbuttoned his pants.

Merle put his handless arm up to balance himself against the tree. He pushed Christie against the tree gently and but the kiss was pure Merle on a mission. Christie pulled off her clothes and helped him out of his pants and boots. The moonlight was bright enough so that she could see him give her that possessive look that he had from time to time.

Merle had pushed her against the tree again. His kisses were rougher and deeper. He pushed his hand between her legs and owned her clit. He mouth suckled her breast with enough force that she was torn between pain and desire.

Merle took his fingers out of her slit and she moaned with disappointment. She was very close and needed just a little more. He dropped to his knees and put his mouth and tongue into her center. It was more forceful possession and his mouth centered itself around her clit and his tongue was aggressively thrusting against her sensitive nub. It wasn't gentle or loving but it was effective.

Merle pushed himself up before she finished and then he pushed against the tree one more time and pulled her legs up and around his waist. He pushed his way into her willing body and he thrust against her time and time again and this time she found the release that he had denied her and he kept on thrusting and she found herself as anxious for release this time as the first.

Finally, he gave a final deep thrust and spurted inside her. He rested and held his position for a bit while they tried to get enough air into their lungs to talk. He pulled himself out of her, "Now that's the way we do it against a tree". He turned and waggled his cock at a walker that was shoving against the fence. Christie laughed at him. He was back from anxious stressed Merle to cocky and crazy Merle. She hoped there were lots of trees where they were going.


	16. Big Happy Family

A Big Happy Family

Caleb closed the gates behind him as he left the compound. He gave the locks a final check and little pat. This place had kept him, his mother, and his uncle safe for a year. Caleb opened the truck door and slid into the driver's seat. "You ready?" he said to the blond girl beside him. Beth nodded and checked the baby in the truck seat behind them. Carl was sitting beside Judith. He had his stash of comic books and he was ready.

Merle and Christie were leading the convoy in a big heavy duty truck with every gas can they could find in the back. Merle was driving and Christie was navigating. The Tahoe behind them had Glenn, Maggie, and Hershel and they were pulling a trailer that had all their supplies.

Merle had memorized the path that Daryl's group had taken. The first rays of daylight were showing in the east and he felt confident that they could see well enough to evade walkers and he hope any bad guys would still be asleep. "What do you think about this Provisional Government of the Virginias business?"

Christie had been thinking about it since the day before. "I can see the two states working together to repopulate the farms. Virginia and West Virginia share history and they border one another. The only way they would have the resources would be if whatever is left of the federal government is working with them. Maybe they are trying to shore up the states around Washington. D. C. to keep some sort of order. There were probably supplies stored all over that area in case of some sort of terrorist activity."

Merle mulled that over. He had been involved in some black ops when he was in the army and knew that that the government made plans for all sorts of disasters. "Why not here in Georgia?"

"I think they would shore up the states closest to D.C. and then work out from there. The Virginias would start at the Atlantic and go all the way to the Ohio River. They would probably put Maryland, Delaware, and Pennsylvania together too". Christie watched the deserted landscape flow by and got a glimpse of a walker herd at the edge of the forest. She grabbed the radio, "Look out, bogies at 2:00 and it looks a mega herd. Be ready".

Merle moved to the other lane and speeded up. He could see the other vehicles close ranks behind him and match his increased speed. The walkers had moved toward the roadway in a hurry and he was glad to see that Caleb's truck had moved through safely. "He's fine," Merle said to himself because Christie had craned her head around to check on the others.

Merle hoped to be there by noon or at least my early afternoon. The road had been clear yesterday and he had no reason to think that it wouldn't be today. He saw the four walkers headed toward them and he automatically slowed to miss them. The big herd was just a few miles back. He saw as they got closer that these were people and not walkers. His first instinct was to keep moving because he didn't have to go out of his way to pick up strangers. Merle knew of course that Christie would want to rescue them. He slowed down and Christie was on the radio telling the others that there were survivors ahead.

Merle stopped, "Move to the driver's seat and stay in the damn truck. Lock the doors and drive on if this gets hairy." He got out of the truck and waited until Christie scooted over though she had a mutinous scowl on her face. Damn woman wants to save the fucking world, he thought. Merle walked toward the four lost sheep and hoped that his bayonet arm didn't scare the shit out of them.

The big Black man carrying a hammer walked toward him and the others stayed back. They looked less threatening. There was a younger Black woman and two little white girls.

The big man with the hammer said, "We don't want no trouble. We are just looking for shelter."

Merle eyed the size of the man, "We don't want no trouble either. We just passed a big herd of walkers on the road behind us. Are you going anywhere particular?"

The big man shook his head, "My sister and I ran into these two little girls two days ago. Their dad was killed and somehow they got away. Our car broke down and we are just looking for whatever we can find".

Merle heard Christie's door slam, "You are welcome to jump in the back of the truck if you want to. We are going to meet up with the rest of our group. We have women and children with us too."

Christie had walked on by the two men toward the other woman and the two girls. Merle looked at her with love and pride. "My wife will see to anything that you need. She's Christie and I'm Merle."

"My name is Tyreese and that is my sister Sasha and the biggest little girl is Lizzie and the other is Mika". They were all walking back to the waiting convoy and Caleb and Glenn walked toward them. Sasha and Tyreese got in the back of the truck and the two girls huddled beside them. Christie had distributed water and food. Carl had come out mostly to stare at the two girls.

Merle was glad to get back on the road but noticed that by the clock on the truck's dash that they had only lost ten minutes. "Didn't take long".

Christie squeezed his leg, "You are turning into such a pussy".

Merle laughed until tears formed in his eyes, "You know that you are the only human on earth that gets to call me that. I just thought the big guy could pull the plow when we get to Green Acres" and he sang a few lines from the theme song from that television show. "Shit, woman. I knew you would never put out for me again if I tried to leave them".

Christie said, "You got that right, my sweet prince. They look exhausted but they are good people. The little girls look traumatized but maybe we can bring them back."

Merle's voice was soft, "Do you want to raise them? Carol lost her little girl a year ago. I mean it ain't like buying a new puppy when the last one got run over by a truck, but Carol's got a kind way about her with everybody".

Christie looked at the two little girls holding hands in the back of the truck. "They are going to need kindness. I think that you and Daryl can be the daddies and Carol and I will be the mommies".

Merle groaned, "Dixon's don't do girls. Only boys like Caleb." Merle thought those little girls had the saddest eyes he had ever seen. "I don't think they can pull a plow worth shit, either".

The rest of the way was thankfully uneventful and it was just after twelve when they passed through the little town that Daryl had told him about. He knew that the rest of the group would be about ten miles north and it felt good to know that soon they would be one big happy family.

TWDTWD

Carol, Andrea, and Michonne were cooking and laughing at Andrea's stories about her adventures before this all happened. Michonne had heard most of them before but they were still funny. They had made a big pot of rice and Daryl was cooking the venison from this morning's hunt. There had heated up some vegetables and Carol had worked some magic on the rice and vegetables. There were newly washed dishes and a dining room table set up.

The women heard the vehicles coming and they had gone out on the porch to welcome the new arrivals. Merle and Christy got out first and had went to the back of the truck to let some strangers out. Carol had glanced at the big man and a smaller woman. Merle had picked up a little girl and carefully placed her on the ground and the big Black man had picked up another little girl and put her beside of the other one. The two girls immediately joined their hands and Carol found herself mesmerized by them. They look both sad and scared and something that had been bound up inside her began to loosen and yet she could hardly breathe for a moment or two.

Then, Andrea was moving toward Judith slowly. Rick moved faster and he was hugging Carl and looking at Judith. Andrea just got close enough to know that the baby was alright. Christie was hugging Jesse and Michonne and it got noisy for a few minutes. Rick shook hands with Tyreese and Sasha while Christie herded the girls toward the house. Daryl was close enough to watch Carol's face knowing that the two girls would trigger memories of Sophia. Carol looked conflicted and he knew part of her was drawn to them and part wanted to stay friendly but aloof. Kind of like how they used to be.

Carol smiled as she was introduced to Lizzie and Mika. They looked overwhelmed and exhausted. They needed to be cleaned up, given food, and a place to rest. Those were things that she could do. Help with their physical needs and maybe one of the others could do the mothering.

Sasha was tired and hungry. Normally, she was suspicious and distrustful. She and Tyreese had been part of a larger group that had been overrun. She and Tyreese had barely escaped. Her head was whirling trying to understand who everybody was and how they were related. Maybe that was why she trusted them so easily. They were bound together through blood and relationships the way she was connected to Ty. This was a family, but they had been taken in and felt safer here than she had in months.

The food was ready and Carol was glad that they had made so much. The men ate together at the table and the women moved to the front porch where it was cooler and there were comfortable chairs. Carl ate with Lizzie and Mika on the porch steps. He was hungry but he saw that they were famished. Carol watched them eat. She would make sure that they got enough food. Christie watched Carol and smiled.

After the meal the men went to the fuel truck and began filling up all the tanks of the vehicles and all the gas cans. They were leaving after this. Daryl had gone scouting this morning and found a farm supply store about thirty miles away. It had strong fences and they could stay there tonight and be on their way.

The women and children slept that night in an office area off the larger storage area. The men slept in the storage area and stood guard. Carol had made sure that the girls had blankets and a pillow and washed up before they went to sleep. The farm supply company had a line of clothing and Carol and Christie had found clothes for the girls and everyone else there. Carol had found a couple of long shirts that would serve as nightgowns.

Daryl had first watch and Carol had sat with him. "How are those little girls getting along?" His question was casual but Carol said firmly, "I am not getting attached to them. I'll help make sure that they are taken care of, but that is all". Daryl nodded, "Okay". Carol stayed with him until Jesse came on watch and then she kissed him goodnight and went to bed.

Christie had checked on Merle. He had made a bed out of sacks of chicken feed, "I am going to get some sleep tonight. No one around to grab the covers and hog the bed. Now if you get all lonely for ole Merle just creep in here and I'll save you a sack of your own."

Christie shook her head. "I think I'll just hang out in the other room. Lizzie and Mika are a little shaky this evening. I think they may need me. Sasha is worn out and is already asleep."

Andrea had managed to snare Judith for a while. The baby was tired and cranky but she calmed down when Andrea fed her a bottle. Beth had seen Andrea's face when she was walking toward Judith when they got there. Andrea loved Judith and she wanted to see that the baby was fine. Andrea needed to have the baby in her arms for a while. Beth had made up another bottle and she handed that one to Andrea knowing that she liked to do the middle of the night feeding. Beth would wake up when they were all together in the compound to see Andrea rocking Judith and feeding her as if she had done if a million times.

Christie had put her blankets down beside of the little girls. They were lying down huddled together. Carol came in much later and slept between Andrea and Michonne. Christie went to sleep and woke up when Judith woke up. Andrea had a small battery lamp and she changed Judith's diaper and fed her. Judith had gone back to sleep in Andrea's arms and Andrea had turned the light off and had went to sleep with Judith beside her. Christie smiled remembering doing that with Caleb when she had been particularly lonely or tired.

Carol had not been able to sleep and she had still been awake when Andrea fed Judith. She got up and moved her blankets beside of the two new girls. Lizzie was moving restlessly in her sleep and Carol scooted closer. Lizzie seemed to settle then and Carol went to sleep with the warmth of the little girl at her back.

AN

I suspect from the spoilers that this is going to be a traumatic week on TWD and I will not be writing this story from the warped point of view of the show. Mika and Lizzie are traumatized and scared. Lizzie will be quirky because I happen to like quirky.

I need a review. Just do.


	17. Country Roads, Take Me Home

Country Roads, Take Me Home

It was time to make decisions, important ones that would forever change the course of their lives. They sat on sacks of feed in a semicircle while they talked over the choices. They had found enough fuel to power travel. Georgia was familiar to them and they had managed to survive here. The option to take the highway to the Virginias was open. They might go west into Tennesse or North Carolina to search among those mountains. All of the choices had merit, and possibly they could find refuge in any of those options.

Jesse wanted the Virginias. He and Christie had grown up there and he felt the climate might be cold enough in the winter to knock back the walker population. It seemed as if there was some semblance of governmental order there and he was a man who liked order. He hated the nomadic life and he wanted to build a future with Michonne.

Rick wanted to go back to the prison. They had done the hard thing and cleared the place out. He didn't trust Merle one bit but the group was stronger for all the new additions. Woodbury was under new leadership and didn't pose the threat of the former regime. He wanted those strong fences between his family and the outside.

Merle only brought up the mountains because he thought it was a choice. They needed to make choices based on logic and not emotion. Jesse wanted to go home and Rick wanted to go back to a place that represented where his wife had died. Merle didn't want to split the group apart for sentiment. He figured the choice would be made by the women anyway. The women would consider which would be safer for the children in the long run. They thought in terms of future generations and not their emotions. He would let Christie decide for them because she had spent her life making decisions based on what was best for Caleb. He turned and smiled at her and thanked his maker one more time that he had thrown off his bond to the Governor.

Daryl and Carol sat together on a sack of horse feed. He could feel her anxiety because it echoes his own. They had spent so much of their lives following others around that decision making was stressful. He nudged her shoulder and she looked up at him. They hadn't talked this over but he thought about what would be best for her. She wanted and needed a home. Those little girls needed a home. They all needed someplace to stay. Every curve in the road might bring the mega herd that would mean death to them all. He made his decision.

Rick stood up, "The prison has strong fences and offers shelter. We could bring others in and make it a community. It is the safest place for us right now."

Carol had considered going back. She had hated the continual travel of the months on the road. They had been half starved and there were children and a baby with them now. She stood up, "The prison will attract too much attention. Some group will always want it because they think it will be safe. The water isn't clean and will never be clean. We needs wells and springs for that. It will be cold in the winter and hard to heat. Those fences are strong but one piece of earth moving equipment pushes against them and they are down." She sat back down. Daryl squeezed her hand. The prison would always be the place that he had searched the tombs for her. He wanted to settle somewhere that didn't remind him of those they hadn't found alive.

Glenn stood up. "I want to go to the Virginias. That fuel truck wasn't a trap. It was carrying fuel to North Carolina so that there would be gasoline to take people to resettlement. Georgia is lost. Maggie and I went back to the farm yesterday to drop those seeds off. I wanted to see it one more time before we left and she took me to an overlook so that I could take a photograph of it. It had been overrun by raiders. The house was burnt and there were dead bodies everywhere. We just got out of there as fast as we could and yesterday I saw the biggest herd I have ever seen just off the road coming at us. My family and I are ready to go now. We aren't going back to the farm or the prison." He nodded at Hershel and sat back down.

Tyreese stood up, "I am grateful that you stopped for us. I don't think I have earned a right to vote with you but Sasha and I are going to that place in North Carolina and praying every mile of the way that it is a way to have a real home again".

Merle was satisfied. The men may have done most of the talking but the women had decided. Maggie had seen her childhood home destroyed by raiders. Sasha was the tougher of the two siblings and she must want it. Carol had spoken for her and Daryl. Jesse would never have pushed for the Virginias if Michonne had not wanted it. He knew Christie wanted to go there. Caleb was smiling at Beth so he must be okay with it.

They scrambled to make arrangements for travel. Daryl and Tyreese had gotten up at dawn to find a vehicle for him and Sasha. It was an extended cab truck and they had collected three gas cans from the garage that the truck had been in. They had went back to the fuel truck and filled the new truck and all the gas cans. They had just gotten back when the meeting had started.

Jesse and Michonne drove the heavy duty truck that they had scavenged yesterday. Daryl drove and Merle road shotgun. Christie, Andre, Carol set in the second row and behind them were Lizzie and Mika.

The others had sorted themselves out. Rick had put Judith back in with Beth and Caleb. He and Carl were in the truck that Merle had driven yesterday. They took the highway north toward that spot in North Carolina that offered a chance for a better life.

TWDTWDTWD

Rick and Carl took the lead and they drove in a loose line after that. Daryl felt the difference in the way they drove. They had fuel and a destination in mind. There were scares along the way. They evaded an ambush because Rick was alert enough not to lead them into a trap. There were walkers everywhere who seemed to want to collide with their vehicles. There blocked highways that they had to find their way around, but still as shadows began to lengthen to a point that they searched for a safe place to stay for the night they were not less than a hundred miles from their destination.

Rick and Carl had taken a side road looking for a place for the night. They had found a concrete block building with fences still intact and waited there until the others showed up. The building had been used by the local school system to store supplies before distribution. The place was empty because no one hangs around a storehouse full of books during a disaster. They parked behind the building and entered from a door at the rear of the building. The place was empty and had been since all of this went down. The bathroom still flushed and they found that there was a river behind the building. The men cut through the fence and made runs to the river so that they could have workable commodes.

Carl and the girls explored the building. It was basically one big room and most of the boxes contained books but there were boxes of art supplies and a pallet load of laptop computers that had not been delivered. Carol had followed the sound of the children and found them ripping into the boxes. Lizzie was looking at the art supplies and Carl was checking out the computers. Mika was looking for books.

Carol watched them with an aching heart. These children had so little that was their own. Then, she helped them sort through the boxes. She found a box full of backpacks labeled Trinity High School and handed two to each of them. Carol automatically checked the front doors to make sure that they were secure and then went back to the main area. Carol had seen Lizzie hide food in her bag this morning. The girl didn't trust them yet and was trying to find some way to survive if something happened. Apparently she liked to draw and paint from the way she had been scooping paper, pencils, and water color sets into her new bag.

They had fired up the grill when she got back and were planning dinner. The back door was open and they were bringing the things in for the night that they would need. Caleb and Glenn went in search of the laptops and Glenn had put the solar panels out on top of the vehicles to charge the batteries. He and Caleb were able to get enough power to start the computers and install the software on seven computers. The computers had come bundled up with the operating systems and software for desktop publishing.

They had sat up that night around the solar lantern and talked. Lizzie and Mika sat between Carol and Christie and both fell asleep before anyone else. Daryl had carried Lizzie to her spot beside of Carol and Merle had carried Mika to her spot beside of Lizzie and Christie. The girls had begun to hang around them today. Carol had not said anything to either of them about it and she didn't think Christie had either. They had let the girls decide who they wanted to be with. The girls had hesitantly followed them to the big suv this morning and Mika had given them a tentative smile when they helped her into the back seat. Lizzie had just nodded; she was older and more cautious than Mika. Carol had followed Daryl and pulled the blankets up on Lizzie and kissed her good night. Christie had helped Merle settle Mika in and had seen the little pat he put on both girl's shoulders.

Andrea was sleeping beside of Michonne which felt right after all those months on the road and Beth settled Judith between them. Caleb was on her other side and Rick and Carl were sleeping on the other side of Judith's travel bed close enough to touch. Merle took first watch and he thought about the next day. He had liked the part of North Carolina that they had traveled through today and knew that tomorrow would decide their fates. He hadn't been surprised that the government had been so ineffective when this all started. He didn't blame the people in charge; it was a surprise cluster fuck and bureaucrats and pencil pushers weren't good at handling events that weren't in their manuals. They had had a year to get organized and maybe they had their shit together. He hoped so because he was bringing everyone he loved into their power.

He woke up Glenn when it was his turn. They had walked the perimeter together and Merle apologized for his behavior on the rooftop. "I was high and I said things that I didn't really mean. I spent months planning my revenge and it was my own fault all along. So I hope you accept that I am sorry and that I am trying to do better".

Glenn recognized that Merle was sorry. "TDog hated that you were left. He was a good man and I miss him. He and Carol got swarmed with walkers and T was bit. They ran inside the prison and Carol offered to put him down and he refused. There were a group of walkers in front of them and he opened up those big strong arms and grabbed them to him so Carol could get by. Daryl found her there blocked in a closet by walkers."

Merle had heard the story but knew that Glenn needed to tell it. He had been in enough combat situations in the army to know that was how you honored the comrades that you lost. You told their story so that others would know that they meant something to you.

Glenn took watch alone. Maggie offered to do it with him but he had wanted some time to think. Today was the first time he had went against anything Rick had wanted. Rick was ready to go back and begin again at the prison and he had openly spoke against it. He knew Rick had been a good leader for them, but he knew that Rick was not really on stable ground right now. Rick has lost Lori in a terrible way and he needed to step back and not be in charge. Rick needed to grieve his loss and rest from the burden that he had carried too long.

TWD TWD TWD

The trip to the checkpoint was uneventful and they had chosen Jesse and Michonne to be the ones at the front. The checkpoint was a rest area on I-77 where it intersected with a highway. A gravel road brought them up to the northbound rest area on the border of Virginia and North Carolina. There were army trucks and men dressed in fatigues scattered around the rest stop keeping watch on their surroundings. Their group was directed toward a large trailer that was guarded by more soldiers. Carol was sure that everyone of their group took a deep breath as Jesse and Michonne walked toward the trailer that was there.

The officer in charge was a Black man in his thirties. He looked very much like an officer in his fatigues and his manner. He smiled at them though and offered them a seat after shaking their hand and introducing himself as Major Anthony Nelson and he laughed when Jesse chuckled. "Not too many people get that anymore. Now what are you two and all those people waiting in those trucks want".

Michonne decided to be upfront. "We found a fuel truck in Georgia that was headed this way. There were papers in there that said that this was a settlement point for the Virginias. We want a permanent home".

Jesse joined in, "I am from Virginia originally and if there is dirt I can grow enough food to feed our group".

Major Nelson said, "Sounds good to me. We need people to settle down and become independent. You can go to Virginia which is now the state of Washington or you can go to West Virginia which has claimed the name of Lincoln."

Michonne asked, "Which one would you go to?"

Nelson laughed, "Lincoln freed the slaves so I am going there. I went through ROTC there and became an Army officer so I like it. Lincoln is mostly small farms and woodland. Washington has developed into large farms that are looking for labor to run them."

Michonne and Jesse said together, "Lincoln".

Nelson nodded, "Good choice. Now I need the names and ages of all those in your group".

Michonne handed him the list that they had written out on one of the notebook found in the warehouse. They had changed Lizzie and Mika's last name to Dixon. They didn't want any well meaning bureaucrats deciding to take the girl's away from them. They certainly could pass for Carol and Daryl's kids.

Nelson looked at a computer screen. "I am giving you a pass to go to Lincoln. Just show it at every checkpoint. You are going to relocate to the geographic middle of Lincoln. There are good farms there just waiting to be claimed. The water is unpolluted and the hunting is good. Now go tell your friends to take a rest room break and we'll give you some supplies and get an identity card for each of you and then we'll send you on your way."

It took about an hour to get it all done. They were issued laminated identity cards with their photograph and their name printed on it. Each vehicle was issued papers stating that they were headed to the central Lincoln check in point on I-79. They were traveling north on I-77 but only the north bound lanes were cleared and there would be some traffic headed south. Each one was issued clothes, toiletries, and food and water for several days.

Anthony shook hands with all of them before they left. He had managed to single out Sasha and they had walked around a bit together. He took her hand before they left, "I think you all will be able to make it. I am slated to be moved up there to maintain security in that area. Would it be alright if I tried to find you when I get there?"

Sasha had liked him and decided that he might be worth seeing again. "I would like that, but we don't allow gold brickers in our outfit. You show up and we'll put you to work".

Anthony laughed, "Sounds good to me. I grew up on a farm and thought I'd join the army and get away from manure. I know my way around a plow. I'll be up there in the late summer." He kissed her cheek, "Now be careful out there. There are always going to be bad guys and walkers but we are doing our best to rid the world of both".

Tyreese was waiting by their truck, "Can't take you anyplace that you don't attract attention, girl".

They started up a long mountain as they entered Virginia. It was cooler up here and the mountains were green with new leaves. The median and the sides of the roads were filled with vehicles that had gotten stalled on this interstate. Carol had felt pressure in her ears and laughed when they popped as they moved toward the top of the mountain. The terrain was mountainous but they could see farms off the roadway.

Daryl was driving but smiled at Carol in the rear view mirror. He had liked Anthony Nelson. They were together and the road was clear. He didn't like driving through the tunnels but when they left the last one he saw a sign hanging over the roadway. "Welcome to Lincoln and it's still almost heaven".

AN

It gave me a pang to lose my state's name but for all you history buff's Abraham Lincoln signed West Virginia into statehood. We are the bastard child of the Civil War because our claim to statehood is a little shaky. We seceded from Virginia when the war began.


	18. Good Match

Good Match

Interstate 77 turned into the West Virginia Turnpike and then their convoy was waved off of that to a four lane road that brought them to their final stop. Their convoy was led by a Humvee and there was an army truck following them. The convoy had grown to 20 vehicles and Carol amused herself by looking at various license plates. North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, and others. The lure of finding some safety and stability was irresistible. Carol could see that there were signs of life here. An occasional truck or car would go by and they would honk their horns in a friendly way.

They were routed onto I-79 and then to a large outdoor mall. She could see hotels and restaurants. This apparently had been a place that travelers stopped on their way going north and south and stayed overnight. The convoy was led up a steep hill and then parked at the hotel. They were then shepherded into the hotel and given accommodations for the night.

Carol and Daryl were given a small suite with king size bed and adjoining room for their two daughters, Lizzie and Mika. Their group had rooms close together on the same floor. They were issued clean clothes and given more toiletries. They could take showers but were asked not to drink the water from the taps. They were given drinking water in gallon containers and sent upstairs to their rooms. Dinner was in an hour and they would have time to shower before then.

Mika and Lizzie had each brought one back pack inside the hotel and Mika got out a book and Lizzie stood at the window and watched the roadway. Carol joined her and saw that there was another convoy coming in. She got the girls organized for a shower that including washing their hair and sent them in together.

Daryl joined her at the window. "What do you think? Is this going to be alright?" He was worried that their group might be split up. He wasn't losing Merle and his family or any of the others.

Carol leaned on him and took comfort that no matter what tomorrow would bring that it would separate her from Daryl or apparently the two girls. The girls came out of the bathroom and she took a few minutes to untangle their hair and make sure that they were dressed for dinner. Daryl took the next shower. Everyone opened their doors and they began to mix and mingle in the hallway. Daryl came out and she thought that he looked very nice in blue pants and denim shirt. Carol was last and her shower was quick but the water was still hot and she could have stayed in there for hours. She dressed quickly in the issued blue pants and denim shirt.

Dinner was a comfort food buffet. More quantity than quality, but it was hot and everyone dug in. Carol had a glass of sweet iced tea and had to stifle her moans of pleasure. Daryl winked at her and she blushed a bit. There was a certain glint in his eye that told her that tonight was going to be sweeter than the iced tea.

The room was filled with weary looking people in blue pants and denim shirts and army fatigues but here and there were others dressed casually but not in any type of uniform. Carol noticed that there was a man and woman in their early thirties and dressed as casually as everyone else but they had a certain air about them that signaled that they were used to being in charge. The woman had auburn hair and a pissed off expression and the man had black hair and looked equally annoyed.

After dinner, the children were allowed to go to the game room while the adults were ushered into a conference room. They were welcomed to Lincoln by an army major who explained that their mission was to bring settlers in and assist in their adapting to be becoming farmers or working in any of the jobs that were necessary to keep the settlement functioning. He introduced the others on the podium as heads of small collectives and they each introduced themselves. Carol liked the auburn haired woman who had genuine smile when she talked. The black haired man seemed earnest if a bit plodding.

Then they were divided into four smaller groups and rotated through the four speakers. Carol liked all of them but she liked the auburn haired woman named Ashley Coulter and her black haired companion named John Samples the best. They had known each other since kindergarten and seemed to have a friendly adversarial relationship. Ashley wanted them to join her and it showed. Carol watched Ashley talk to Merle. Whatever she said made Merle laugh and shake his head. He had walked over to Christie and whispered in her ear. Christie had looked worried and then shook her head at him.

The next half hour was the Merle Show. He managed to insult everyone in the room in some way or other. Daryl was furious because Merle had obviously had a stash and was high. Rick wanted to handcuff him and leave him again. Merle referred to Caleb as his "hybrid son" and Christie as his "Brown Sugar". Glenn was a Chinaman and Hershel was "Peg Leg Papa" and those were the kindest one. He razzed Rick as Officer Friendly and the final highlight was insulting the WVU football team as a bunch of "pussies". At that point Christie had dragged him upstairs and the rest of the group tried to repair the damage done by an out of control ranting Merle. Daryl just hoped they didn't take the whole group back in Georgia the next morning.

Merle had laughed all the way back upstairs and took "Brown Sugar" in his arms and explained that Ashley had asked him to discourage the others from wanting their group. Merle had liked Ashley and John the best and he had been really well behaved for a while now and it was time to have some fun.

Christie said, "Did you tell Caleb before you started?"

Merle laughed and kissed her, "Yeah, but not the others. Now everyone is downstairs playing nice and I want to be up here with you playing naughty. So my sweet Brown Sugar, let's take advantage of a soft bed and a hard dick and do what comes natural".

Christie had locked the door and led him to the bed. Life with Merle was never going to be easy but it was not boring.

Downstairs Rick had tried to repair the damage done by Merle and wound up angering Daryl and they got in a shouting match in front of the others. Carol noticed that Ashley had watched the proceedings with a slight smile. Their group could not make a worst impression and Carol decided that she would go check on the children.

Andrea was sitting out in the lobby area feeding Judith and being chatted up by the army major in charge of the operation. Carol smiled; Andrea had made managed to look hot in the issued clothes and to get the attention of the most powerful man in the place. Carol waved at Andrea and walked on to the game room. She watched the Lizzie and Mika play games while a suddenly protective Carl hung out with them. Lizzie seemed to throw off her reserve with the other children and she and Mika laughed as much as the rest. She inched back; they were fine and she went back to the lobby. Rick had come out to check on Judith and was sitting with Andrea and the major. Andrea was still holding Judith and Rick had sat down beside her and the body language had Rick being possessive all over it.

The meeting was over and Daryl met her at the door. He was still flushed with anger at Rick and probably at Merle as well. He was ready to go upstairs and find Merle and they got the girls and went upstairs. Carol took the girls to their room and sat with them while they chatted about their evening.

The hallway party was in session and Merle was the life of the party. He and Christie were obviously on good terms and even Caleb was laughing at his antics. Rick was still a little angry but every so often his lips would curl up in a bit of a smile. Andrea and Beth were rooming together and Judith was already asleep in their room. Michonne, Andrea, and Carol sat together and caught up with the news.

Eventually, they went to their rooms. Lizzie and Mika went to sleep and Carol went in search of Daryl. He was standing at the window staring out. Carol leaned against him and Daryl reached out and pulled her closer. "I think it is going to be alright. Damn Merle, I thought we are going to get booted out before we got in".

"Ashley figured out that we were the ones she wanted and she gamed the system. She'll have them begging her to take us." Carol figured that the army would probably throw in a tractor or two if Ashley would take Merle off their hands. John Samples would be furious and the army would keep sweeting the deal until he agreed. The woman knew how to work it.

Daryl slid his hand around to start unbuttoning her shirt and nuzzling Carol's neck. This might have to be quiet but that didn't mean it couldn't be good. A big bed with clean sheets and Carol looking all mischievous and eager. "First time" he mumbled as he ran his hand up her back to unfasten her bra.

"First time?" she questioned as she unbuttoned the shirt that matched his eyes.

"First time in a bed and the first time in Lincoln". Daryl was calm and unhurried. He neatly folded her shirt and bra on the chair by the bed. He took off his unbuttoned shirt and pulled Carol's zipper down and she sat down on the bed and kicked them off. He folded the pants and pulled off her panties. He moved slowly and methodically. He pulled off his pants and put them on top of hers and slid down his boxers. Carol had gotten into bed and pulled the covers up.

Daryl moved to his backpack and pulled out a candle and a lighter. He lit the candle and put it on the table beside their bed and turned off the lamp beside the bed. They were awash in candlelight and he propped himself up beside of Carol.

"I like the way things smell in the piney woods of Georgia. Odors have always been important to me. I don't know why, but they are. I like smelling you. I would recognize you in room full of people with a blindfold on by your smell. There was a candle burning the first time we were together and the smell of you and our sex and the burning candle are all mixed in my head. I want to smell that again and know that it doesn't matter where we are as long as it is you that I am with." Daryl sniffed Carol's hair and she pulled his hair just a little bit so that they could kiss.

The candle cast enough light so that Carol could see his eyes, warm and tender, loving her. She hugged him close to her so that she could feel all of him against as much of her as she could. The need to be fully in contact with him wasn't fading as they were intimate; it had only gotten more intense since they had sex, but it wasn't exactly sexual desire. That was something different. This feeling had more to do with just experiencing the feel of the other and knowing that they wanted to feel you too. Daryl held the hug and pulled her even closer for a few moments until his body betrayed his heart and the feel of his erection pressed against her reminded Carol's body that it craved more than touching. It wanted sex and she smiled against his neck and sucked an ear lobe while her hands began to explore his maleness. Daryl laughed and grabbed at her hands, "Greedy woman, I am trying to be sensitive here".

Afterwards, they talked about Lizzie and Mika. Daryl assured her that he was fine with instant fatherhood. "It's a little scary because of my father, but I never want to be like that. It feels right though just like being with you. Like it is something that I always wanted but I didn't know it until I let my guard down. You know, yesterday was the first time I ever left Georgia and now I am content to be in Lincoln. I have never been to Disney World. Why do people go to Disney World anyway?"

Carol thought about it; she had gone to Disney World on a band trip when she was in high school. "It's amazing; it's like a fairy tale come true. It's like a magical place where you can just go on those exciting rides and at night the fireworks light up the castle and it is absolutely beautiful."

Daryl smiled, "I have that with you, my sweet Carol. You are a magical place where I go on those exciting rides and fireworks light up my castle when we are together. You are absolutely beautiful. So I don't care if I ever go to Disney World".

Carol blinked back tears. Sometimes she was so caught up in how much that she loved him that she forgot that he loved her as much. "Is the smell what you remembered?"

Daryl sighed, "There was that musty smell that never went away in the prison, and this smell isn't quite right."

Carol said, "We did get to have a hot shower tonight, but that part I liked."

Daryl shook his head, "I think it is the sex level isn't quite as high."

"I guess we could try again and see if we could amp that up a little," she suggested.

Daryl shrugged, "Well, if you want to, I guess I am up for it".

TWDTWDTWD

Andrea slipped down the hall to Rick's room and knocked gently, "Rick, its Andrea".

Rick wasn't asleep and he was instantly afraid for Judith. He jumped out of bed and flung the door open. Andrea was standing there dressed in non-revealing pajamas and carrying Judith and a small bag.

She went into his room. "Caleb and Beth want to be together. May Judith and I sleep here tonight? Sooner or later she is going to have to tell Hershel but I hate being the cock blocker here".

Rick laughed, "Okay, I'll sleep with Carl on the other bed and you and Judith can have my bed."

Andrea put Judith down, and put the flashlight and the baby bag beside her where she could find it when the baby woke up. She slid in beside of the baby and said, "Goodnight, Rick". She was tired but she found that she could feel the warmth of the place that he had just lain on and his smell was on the pillow.

"Good night, Andrea. Those are some ugly pajamas. Don't ever let your major catch you in those." Rick was surprised that he had said that about the pajamas.

Andrea just laughed, "They are ugly, but I feel really good when I have them on. So it doesn't matter what anybody else thinks".

She turned over and it wasn't long before Rick knew she was asleep and he timed his breathing to match hers and he went to sleep only waking when she fed Judith. He pretended to be asleep but he felt a kind of peace lying there listening to Judith nestle against Andrea's ugly pajamas and then the loud ungirly burp that Judith gave came out. Judith went back to sleep and then Andrea and again he paced his breathing with hers and found rest for that night anyway.

AN

**This chapter may not make a whole lot of sense because I have the mother of all colds right now. I am sitting surrounded by used tissues and cough drops. **

**I did want to move my characters to their next destination but that is the next chapter. Yeah, I know it is too soon after Lori's death for Randrea but this romance will be a slow burn. I find that I am so unhappy with TWD's Daryl that I have lessened by Rick hate. I am writing Daryl the way I want him to be. He has Disney World and Disney Land with Carol and by golly, he's gonna tell her.**

**Thank you Vicki for being such a faithful reviewer. I keep getting follows and no reviews. Do you have any idea how sick I am? I need some reminders someone is reading this.**

**Give a review, my peeps.**


	19. The Land

**of late and I want to catch up with her. It's time for the group to find their new home. **

The Land

The next morning was a rush of packing, final hot shower, and breakfast downstairs. Then, the settlers went into the conference room and they were parceled out to their homes. Carol was not surprised to learn that their entire group was assigned to Ashley and John. Ashley had a confident air this morning; negotiations must have gone her way.

Ashley shook hands with the adults and hugged the children. "Are you ready to go to your new home?" She winked at Merle, "It worked, I so love to play the system".

Merle laughed, "What did you get out of my playing the asshole?"

Ashley smiled, "A tractor and some diesel fuel and I get you all. That's what I wanted all along".

John led them out to the parking lot and they followed his truck onto the interstate. Carol and Daryl talked about the land as they rode along the highway. There were stretches of flat land but they were always surrounded by hills and mountains. The road followed a river that sparkled in the morning sun. Then, they turned off the interstate and the road narrowed and they passed small farms with neatly plowed gardens. The drove for a few miles before the road abruptly turned upward and began a series of steep curves. They were nearly at the crest of the mountain when John signaled that they were turning off.

The new road had narrowed yet again and trees seemed to crowd them toward the center of the road. Then, Carol could see daylight ahead and they went through a gate and through open fields with cattle grazing on them. Carol could see a several houses scattered on the mountain and John pulled into a large brick house. They parked behind him and got out of their vehicles.

The farm stretched along the ridges of this mountain. Nature had been pushed back here to create meadows, gardens, and orchards. Trees lined every field and everything was a dazzling green under the blue sky. She could see that there were other farms perched on the tops of the distant hills. There was dew on the newly mown grass and there were flowers planted along the walk.

Then they were greeted by Ashley's father Warren and a trio of his sisters. There was a young man who must be Ashley's brother and a young woman with long dark hair. Warren was probably sixty and the sisters seemed a bit younger.

Ashley took charge. There were four houses that were vacant here and she would let them decide how they wanted to go. The houses were unlocked and the electricity had been turned on, but it worked sporadically. Each house had a cistern that collected rainwater for use and spring water for drinking.

She left them to sort the houses out and asked them to come by the house when they were ready for the tour. The Greenes took the ranch house. Rick took the house beside of that. It was small but he only had Carl and Judith. Merle, Christie, and Caleb took the next house and there was a bedroom for Sasha and a downstairs bedroom for Tyreese . The biggest house went to the rest: It had four bedrooms and three baths and could accommodate them easily. The house was furnished and had been carefully cleaned, but all traces of the former occupants were gone. Carol thought about the sisters; these must have been their homes. They had retreated to one house and held on there. She knew instinctively that they had lost all their children and grandchildren. There was only Ashley and her brother Dylan left of that generation and she felt their pain and their loss but also their incredible strength. The Coulters did not opt out; they survived. They had opened their homes to them and it felt like home already.

Michonne and Jesse took an upstairs bedroom. They brought their few possessions in and stowed them away. Jesse was exultant and his joy at finding a farm was palpable. He whirled her around and kissed her. "Let's just go and see the place. I can't wait until I show Warren the seeds."

Michonne had felt off all day. She was a stranger in a strange land. She had been a city girl that had taken refuge in the country when the ZA hit but she didn't know how to be a farmer's wife and she wasn't sure she wanted to. You were bound to the land as a farmer. It owned you. She had been a free spirit traveling where she wanted when she wanted. She loved Jesse but part of her wanted to get in a truck and escape before she started life here.

Carol and Daryl had taken a downstairs bedroom with its own bath. Andrea shared a bathroom with the girls and she was happy with that. Michonne and Jesse had a private bath. It was a perfect house for them and Michonne was irritated at the house's rightness. She could sink in here and never be seen again.

Carol delighted in the house. It had an open concept layout and a nice kitchen. She had figured out the water situation and had a drink of the spring water. She and Andrea were standing in the kitchen when Michonne stomped down the stairs. Andrea recognized the signs of an out of sorts Michonne and muttered "Look out, Michonne is feeling insecure" to Carol.

Jesse and Daryl talked on the back deck that hung out over the mountain. Jesse was ready to go talk to Warren and Dylan, but Daryl said, "Best let the women sort this out before we go. I don't know a lot about living with a woman but I think Carol needs a minute to get herself grounded."

Michonne had stood in the living room for a bit and then wandered toward the kitchen. Carol had went upstairs to see how Lizzie and Mika were doing. Andrea gave Michonne a glass of spring water, "It has a wonderful taste"

Michonne grumbled, "It's probably the giardia that gives it that wonderful taste", but she drank it and Andrea nudged her shoulder. "Hey, if we don't like it we'll steal a truck and go off to see the world. We're not barefoot and pregnant yet. We can take care of ourselves".

The prospect of fleeing the bucolic farm seemed to cheer Michonne. "What were you up to last night in Rick's room? Girl, give the vagizille a rest".

Andrea nudged her shoulder again. "The vagizille is taking an extended break. Miss Innocent wanted to explore the wonders of sex in a hotel last night. I slept in Rick's room but he slept in the other bed. I had Judith and she had Caleb. And I wore the striped pajamas".

Michonne grinned, "Those pajamas would discourage unwanted advances. How do you like the place?"

"It's a nice place and it was worth a full blown Merle barrage to get us here. This isn't the life that we thought we would have but we can be happy here. We can hang out on the deck in the evenings and watch the sun go down. We can grow old here and then we'll be the three sisters."

Michonne had to laugh at the thought of them as older women still hanging out together. It was a happy laugh though.

Carol came back downstairs and paused in the living room to watch Daryl and Jesse. She walked into the kitchen, "They are getting antsy. Are you all ready to go on the tour?"

Andrea asked, "How are the kittens doing?"

"They are settling in their room and arguing about drawer space, but I don't think it is real to them yet. Lizzie and Mika have been through too much, lost too much, and it is going to take a long time before they will really trust that things aren't going to go bad at any time". Carol knew that what she was saying applied to all of them. It seems as if she had been on the road forever.

Jesse and Daryl came in the house and the girls trooped down to walk over with them. Rick was already there with Carl and Judith. The sisters were holding Judith and they offered to watch her while they saw the place. Merle, Christie, and Caleb were next. Warren had went over to the Greene's house with a truck so that Hershel could ride.

The house was getting crowded and they moved outside. Warren, Hershel, Jesse, and Dylan were standing together talking and Michonne watching them thought that they looked so natural together. Four generations of good men who loved the land and Jesse was one of them. She felt again that she didn't belong here. Her life as a successful attorney was over and she didn't know how this was supposed to work.

"Don't worry, Little Sister. These nice people will probably let you cut the heads off the chickens once in a while. Just to keep in practice, don't want to get too soft". Merle gave a look around. "These people are too damn civilized. I feel like the bastard at the homecoming".

"Maybe they are the ZA version of Hansel and Gretel and they just want to fatten us up to be Sunday dinner." Michonne figured that only person more out of place than her was Merle.

"You will grab that fancy sword and rescue us from this hellhole,". Merle looked at Caleb and Christie. "Or we will find a way to contribute. We can always dream about the old days when the Governor or 200 hundred hungry walkers were trying to kill us. Little Sister, we maybe the square pegs in round holes but you'll be barefoot and pregnant pretty damn soon and you and Jesse Bear can raise your little cubs here".

Michonne frowned. "What is with you people today. You are the second person to use the expression barefoot and pregnant. I don't intend to be either".

Merle loved it when he torqued people up, "You are being exposed to the condition on a regular basis. You'll calve in less than a year from now. It's alright if you want to name the baby after me."

"Jesse won't let me name his son "Asshole" so I don't think we'll name him after you." Michonne was trying to remember when that last period was. The last few weeks had been filled with chaos. Martha Monthly was due anytime.

The tour started but it wasn't this place that they were touring. It was the adjoining farm and they walked to it on a gravel road. There were trees on either side of the road and Lizzie and Mika moved between Carol and Daryl and Mika put her hand in Daryl's. He was a bit startled but he carefully held on to her. His eyes met Carol's and she smiled at him and he smiled back. He felt a surge of happiness; this place was right for them.

Michonne and Jesse were walking together with Rick and Andrea. Carl had run ahead through a gate that Warren had opened. They walked out onto a meadow of spring grasses and flowers. It was sloped but not too steeply. The girls ran to pick flowers and they all continued to walk through the meadow toward the large barn. There were more meadow and fields that ran around the side of the mountain.

Warren and Hershel were waiting for them at the barn. Hershel was smiling and he seemed at home here. Warren didn't seem like the kind of man that like to do much talking but he swung his arm around. "All the fields and meadows that you see here are yours. We will walk the fences afterwhile to make sure that there still secure. This barn is in good shape and there is another one further on with hay in it. Ashley has a tractor coming and we can bale the hay soon. We'll move some of those cows from the other side over here. When you are ready to build, we'll work together to build your homes out here if you want."

Jesse shook Warren's hand. "Thank you, Warren. We appreciate all that you have done for us."

"No need to thank me. The people who used to be here loved this place and they took good care of it. I used to be really into ownership. I liked to call things and places "mine', but I know better now. You can't own land, you can only tend to it and it will bless you and yours with what you need. So welcome to this land and I think that all of you can find happiness here". Warren was chagrined to find himself crying in front of the other and he wiped his tears away. He had grown up here by the Daniels place. He and Dylan had put down and buried the family in a mass grave. The land needed to be used.

"There is another property that joins this one. It has been tied up in heirship for thirty years and Ashley has found a way to have it part of your settlement. The land is good but you'll have to use heavy equipment to clean it up. The house is worthless but you can build your own out there. The road is pretty bad but we can make it through there. He and Hershel got back in the truck and they followed them out to the other farm. The barn was still standing and you see that there were large fields and meadows there. Jesse was excited. There was enough acreage between the two farms to feed and take care of their whole group. There were trees that they could cut for lumber and firewood and Warren had his own small sawmill.

Michonne and Jesse walked back to the first farm with Carol and Daryl. Andrea had walked the "kittens" home. She was still recovering from her injuries and tired more quickly than she liked to admit. They walked over to the other barn and Jesse checked on the orchard which was fenced to keep the deer out of it. Daryl confessed, "I don't know anything being a farmer".

Jesse said, "We will work through this together. Isn't it beautiful?" You could see the tops of the other hills and Michonne could imagine that the view would be exceptional all four seasons. Carol and Daryl walked on back to check on Lizzie and Mika.

Jesse and Michonne took a hike through the woods toward a rock cliff that looked out over their farm. They stretched out on the rock and looked over at the meadows and fields. "Talk to me, woman".

Michonne sighed, "How do I fit in here. I don't know how to do this."

Jesse was quiet for a bit. "Do you mean you don't know how to settle into a farm or do you mean that you don't know how to be with me for longer than a week?" His voice was gentle and Michonne took a while to think about it.

"Jesse, I love you, but this place is so different from my life growing up in a city. You are at home here but it doesn't come natural to me".

Jesse had grown up on a farm. It did come natural to him. "There won't be any cities for a while. No fancy coffee houses and nice restaurants. I went to college thinking that I would get an engineering degree. My freshman year I had some tough classes and my advisor signed me up for a fluff class. We watched a series of videos and then had to write an essay on each of them. Easy A. One of those videos changed my life. It started with some film of a nomadic herdsman playing a song on his flute. The music was haunting but the focus of the video was how the growth of agriculture changed the life of mankind. The last part was the herdsman and the voiceover told us that he could only play that one song. He never had time or the opportunity to learn another song. I realized that I wanted to be part of the growth of agriculture. I changed my major to agricultural science and stayed in school until I finished my doctorate."

Michonne had listened to Jesse while she looked out at the green meadow. She thought of the urban life and remembered that it had been crowded and noisy most of the time. She and Jesse could work together here. They wouldn't spend their lives at jobs and places that separated them. She looked at Jesse and he was so lovable that she had to swallow the lump in her throat.

"Just promise that you let me share your life. I don't want to be second to your friends and sports and your good times. I want to be first". Michonne had been there before.

Jesse looked surprised, "So all I have to do is be willing to share my life and make you my best friend. I don't care about sports and you are my good times. I got it covered. But you have to promise something too. I want it to be for rest of our lives. I want children, and I hope that you do too".

Michonne felt the warmth of the warm spring day on her face and she looked again at the world before her. It was rich with color and warm from the sun and there was life everywhere. "Yes".

**AN**

**Don't worry, sooner or later Michonne will get to do her ninja thing. The world is a dangerous place and there will always be dangers that have to be faced.**

**Lizzie and Mika will have full and happy lives in my story. I hate storylines that result in the death of children. Won't happen. Lizzie is not crazy and Mika is not so good that she can't fight back.**

**Pay the piper please and give a review.**


	20. Seeds

**The transition from hunter-gatherer to farmer took humanity eons, but my story will have to move faster than that. **

Seeds

That evening Jesse carried his box of heirloom seeds to Warren who was sitting on his porch after dinner. Jesse put the box down on the glass topped table and opened it for him. Warren motioned for Jesse to sit down and then took the time to look at each compartment, noting the seed and all its accompanying information, and then Warren sat back in his chair. "Who are you? How did you get these?"

Jesse gave a quick description of his former life and his decision to save the seeds before he left Virginia Tech. He was giving them to Warren because he trusted him to know to do the right thing.

"We need to get a share of these in the ground right now and a share goes to farmers I can trust around here, and a small portion we will save because they are too important not to save some. This means that we can survive another winter. This means that we all can survive ten years or a hundred. Tomorrow morning we will plant seeds". Warren's voice was gleeful. He had been worried that his farm might not produce enough to feed the extra people but he had more faith now.

"We'll be over here early tomorrow morning. The fields are already tilled and we'll put these in the ground."

Jesse left him there looking through the box again. Jesse wanted to walk over to the other farm with Michonne before it got too late. Warren had given them all the information that walkers popped out all the time, but usually they were in alone or in small groups. The biggest danger was from raiders and local thieves.

They had found the deck furniture stored in the basement and Michonne and Andrea were catching the last rays of the sun. Carol and Daryl had taken the girls and Carl to visit the horses. Rick had brought over Judith who asleep in a box in the living room and had taken a seat close on the deck but where he could see Judith. Jesse smiled at how comfortable they looked. They had been here less than twelve hours but they looked settled. He took a seat beside of Rick.

"I gave Warren the seeds. We are going to plant them early".

Rick nodded, "Carl and I will help. The sisters said that they will watch Judith and maybe that lazy Andrea will help out."

Andrea laughed, "Lazy Andrea and Michonne are meeting with Ashley tomorrow morning. She has plans to employ us as "Resettlement Transition Officers" so that we can earn our keep."

Rick asked what does a "RTO do?"

Andrea and Michonne said together, "Aid and Advise the settlers into a smooth transition to their new lives".

Rick frowned, "Where are you doing this aiding and advising at?" He didn't like the sound of them traipsing off the hill to deal with refugees.

Michonne said, "Don't go all patriarchial on us, Rick. We can take care of ourselves."

Jesse smiled; poor Rick was a control freak who had lost control.

TWD TWD

Carol and Daryl leaned against the fence while Dylan led the girls and Carl toward the horses. Daryl nudged her shoulder, "I like this place".

She tore her eyes from watching Lizzie and Mika tentatively pet the horses while Carl and Dylan held their reins. Dylan had saddled the horses so that the girls could ride them around the meadow while he led them. Carol eyes were brimmed with tears but she was smiling, "I did try not to love them, but they are too damn sweet not to love".

Daryl put an arm around her and for the first time he kissed away her tears, "Carol, that's how I feel about you. We can raise them here, you and me."

Carol kissed him and turned back to the girls who were trying to get into the saddle. It wasn't pretty but finally they got mounted and Dylan led the horses toward them. Carl fished a digital camera from his pocket and climbed up on the fence and got a photograph of the two girls smiling as they rode along together. They gave Carl a turn on the horses and he loved it. Lizzie caught a photo of him urging his horse to go faster.

Carol and Daryl watched them be children and then Carl got off the horse so that Lizzie could ride and came over to them, "I want to take to you about something."

Carl sounded so adult that Carol smiled a bit, but the boy was serious, "I want you to convince my dad to move in the house with you."

Daryl said, "You dad wants you to take care of you in his house".

Carl shook his head, "Beth and Caleb need a house. They can't keep sneaking around. She loves him and he loves her. They need their own house. There is a room in your basement with a bathroom. We can live there and your can help with Judith."

Daryl knew that Carl had crushed on Beth while they were on their run. He was impressed that the boy had would give up his own place so that Beth would have a house. "Carl, are you sure that is what you want?"

Carl nodded and his eyes were on the girls riding cautiously around the meadow while Dylan led the horses. "You can't take a magic pill and grow up overnight. I liked Beth but I knew that I was just a kid. I'll just pick out one of those fine fillies out there when we grow up".

Daryl cuffed him lightly on the head, "Keep those wandering eyes from my little girls; they are a long way from growing up".

Carol smiled at Daryl; he would make a good father in time. He had the desire and the instincts. She looked at Carl, "Don't be playing with those girls; I don't want any battles over which one you like. That only leads to everybody getting hurt."

Carl said, "I won't do that. I know which filly is mine already. I just have to spend the next seven years convincing her that I am the one for her. It's Lizzie now and it is always going to be Lizzie. I better get over there and keep her from falling off that damn horse." Carl hurried to her and put his foot into the stirrup and swung himself effortlessly into the saddle behind her. He grabbed the reins from her and kicked the horse into moving a little faster.

Carol automatically took the photograph of the two of them riding the horse. Lizzie was laughing and her hair was blowing in the breeze and Carl was smiling at her. Mika's was laughing with them and the evening sun lit them an incredible golden light and it was perfect.

Daryl said, "What just happened here?"

Carol shook her head, "Carl has just told us that he will marry Lizzie when she grows us. I think we have been put on notice. Now what about Rick moving in?"

Daryl took a few minutes to think about that while they watched their girls and Carl ride around the meadow. "The damn boy is right. Rick needs help with Judith and there is room downstairs. Caleb needs to man up and make Beth a wife before he knocks her up." He decided that he would keep an eye on Carl. The boy riding behind Lizzie was growing up. He moved behind Carol and hugged her. "We could find that hayloft now".

Carol leaned back for a moment but said, "I don't think now is going to be the right time. Didn't last night tide you over for a day or two?"

Daryl kissed the back of her neck and let his fingers slide up under her shirt to cup her breasts. "I think it is rising tide that is floating all boats. Horniness is a renewable resource you know. It's spring on a farm. Time to let those seeds float on out".

"They can float on out tonight when we are in bed." She moved out of his grasp and took more photographs. Dylan took the horses inside and they all walked back to their house.

They watched the last of a beautiful sunset on the back deck drinking spring water and talking. Lizzie and Mika sat at Carol and Daryl's feet and Carl sat beside of his dad.

Carol decided to test the waters, "Rick we have a basement downstairs and there is a bathroom too. You'd be welcome here if you wanted to move in".

Rick nodded. He wanted to take care of his children but it was hard for one person to take care of a baby and work on a farm at the same time. "I would like it, but I think you need to let everyone give their input."

Jesse and Michonne gave thumbs up and so did everyone else but Lizzie and Mika who put their thumbs down and laughed at Carl. Rick and Carl went back to the house while Andrea held Judith and fed her a bottle.

Michonne asked, "I am glad that they are moving in. Rick can't handle it and work. He needs to work out in the fields and gardens and give himself a chance to work out his grief, but we'll have to give Blondie the heads up that she can't go waltzing around in those sexy pajamas". Andrea gave a cautious look around to ensure that the girls were upstairs and then gave Michonne the finger.

Jesse laughed, "You mean the striped ones, the ones that looked like something that was worn in concentration camps? I think she's pretty damn safe in those things."

Andrea said airily as she shifted Judith for a burp, "It's not every woman who can carry off those pajamas. Make fun all you want. When you've got it you don't need to flaunt it". They all laughed, but they all knew that Andrea did have it. She was just not flaunting it at the moment.

Carol was still taking photographs. Andrea with Judith, Michonne leaning on Jesse, Rick and Carl, and Jesse had taken one of her and Daryl with the two girls sitting at her feet. It had been quite a day and she thought that she might start taking more photographs. She could save them on the camera or a laptop. This house had been emptied of anything personal. She wanted to put something of them up to show that it wasn't empty anymore. It was their home.

Rick and Carl moved downstairs. Carol was a little concerned about the basement being a little cool and damp for such a young baby. Judith would stay with Carol or Andrea at night. Rick agreed but said that he would take care of her in the evenings.

The sisters brought over cookies and milk for everyone. They also brought over some books for the children and told them that the town library was open two days a week. They went on home because it was getting dark and left them to eat oatmeal raisin cookies with cold milk.

Michonne eyed the milk, "I guess if I survive the giardia in the water I can always succumb to drinking unpasteurized milk". Her fate was sealed but the cold milk and the cookies were too good to pass up".

Carl said, "I'll take hers if she doesn't want them". Michonne made a face at him and he laughed at her.

Merle had said that his house would have watch tonight and he had talked the schedule over with Warren. There was too much to lose here to go to sleep without knowing that someone is watching over the farm.

Carol settled into bed beside Daryl. The girls were settled in bed. Judith was in her basket beside of Andrea tonight. He was pretending to be asleep, but his lips were quirked at angle that gave him away. She kissed him, "Goodnight, Daryl".

He opened his eyes, "Didn't you make some promises about floating seeds?"

Carol looked at the ceiling, "I was thinking about those seeds this evening. We have been using condoms. Fertility goes down when you get older and I don't know if I can get pregnant. How would you feel if we just let nature decide?"

Daryl thought about Lori, "You might die, not worth that, nothing is worth that."

Carol knew the risks of an older pregnancy. "I didn't have any problems delivering Sophia. We are going to have a more balanced diet now. I want to try. You have the makings of a good father and I am a good mother. So will you float those seeds or not?"

Daryl was suddenly incredibly horny. He wanted to give the boys a shot. He imagined a little innocent egg floating along minding its own business when a barrage of Dixon eggs began trying to penetrate it. He kissed her. "Game on, Carol".

Upstairs Michonne was brushing her teeth in giardia filled water and contemplating the calendar. She was late but her period had been infrequent since last summer. She had the sudden visualization of her ovaries holding onto those eggs while she had been on the road and then when she was exposed to those pesky pheromones that Jesse produced they began to drop like big slow snowflakes taunting Jesse's boys to just try to catch them. She had been as Merle so cleverly put it "exposed". She looked out the window to a sky filled with more stars than she had ever noticed before. She spit out the toothpaste and thought. I am risking giardia, drinking unpasteurized milk, and pregnancy. I am the Evel Knieval of the Zombie Apocalypse. That seemed to cheer her up and she wandered over to Andrea's room.

Andrea was reading a book and wearing the ugly pajamas. She smiled when she saw Michonne and scooted over so that there was room for Michonne, " I knew these pajamas would lure somebody in, but looks like I'll have to close shop for the night. I love you, but you just lack one thing that I really like".

"What happened to giving the vagizille a rest? Damn, girl Carol's gonna kill you if you seduce Daryl and I am going to kill you if you mess with my man." Michonne teased.

"I was resting it but did you have to put Rick under the same roof. He doesn't snore all that loud you know and he has nice hands". Andrea wondered if there was something wrong with her. One part of her knew that Rick needed to heal and the other part just wanted him inside her.

Michonne said, "I think it is some sort of primitive response to living on a farm. Now just take a deep breath and look at the flowers or something. You could go over and bang Warren but I think you would scare him to death."

Andrea said thoughtfully, "There is Tyreese but he is such a big old teddy bear. Way too sane for me. I like me some crazy. "

Michonne kissed her on the forehead, "I love you, do whatever the hell you want to do. You have earned it." She slid off the bed and headed toward her bedroom. "Well, I am off to Jesse. We will talk about the joys of farming and the importance of manure in organic gardening."

Andrea said quietly, "Thank you".

Michonne turned, "Why are you thanking me?"

Andrea smiled at her, "For never leaving me behind, I know what your risked for me. I can never repay you".

Michonne smiled and went on out. She saw Rick coming up the stairs and wondered what that was about. He asked, "Is Andrea still up?" She nodded and went into her bedroom to find Jesse poring over some magazine"

"Getting inspired with some porn?"

He laughed and showed her the cover "Mother Earth News isn't exactly porn". You are my inspiration. Don't need anything else".

Michonne took the magazine away, "Prove it".

TWDTWD

Rick knocked on Andrea's door, "Are you decent?"

She laughed, "Depends on your definition. Come on in."

Rick looked at the pajamas and hid his snicker, "I found Judith's favorite pacifier down stairs. I thought I'd better bring it up before she misses it. So you and Michonne are going to meet with Ashley tomorrow?"

Andrea nodded, "She wants to talk here tomorrow morning. I guess she works out of the courthouse in the little town. She is going to talk to Christie too."

Rick handed her the pacifier. "That job could be dangerous. You know that some of the settlers will be marauders looking for new victims. Don't be afraid to ask for my help."

Andrea said, "I gave up thinking I didn't need help some time ago. I will ask you when I need it."

Rick turned to go, "Those pajamas aren't that bad. See you tomorrow, Andy". He bit and kissed Judith gently.

He left then and closed the door behind him wanting to stay.

Andrea smiled, "Slow burn, my ass". She turned the light off and went to sleep.

AN

**I can't help it, I write babies or at least as Merle would say my characters are willing to be "exposed" to babies.**

**Heirloom seeds develop into plants that produce seeds that breed true. That is they produce copies of the first generation plant. Hybrid seeds don't save well and are often sterile. Warren recognized the value of the seeds and he will give them to farmers that he trusts so that they can be saved and shared with others from season to season.**

**Please review, I appreciate your sharing with me.**


	21. Getting Started

**Our group is starting over in a new place with new rules.**

Getting Started

Ashley and John knocked on their door at 9:00 and Michonne ushered them into the living room where Carol and Andrea had been feeding the baby. The others were working on the farm this morning. Carol got up to go but Ashley said, "Don't go Carol, I want you to hear this too."

Carol looked at Ashley. She wasn't the exultant winner of yesterday. She was pale, wearing the same clothes as yesterday, and there was a worn look to her face that wasn't there yesterday. Ashley asked, "May I feed the baby?" Carol handed Judith to Ashley and John took over the meeting. Ashley concentrated on Judith, stroking her fine downy hair and cooing to her. Judith rewarded her with a toothless smile and smacking her lips. Ashley took the hint and held the bottle so that Judith could reach it easily.

"We have had some bad news about a settlement family. Yesterday we found out that a group of new settlers robbed and killed their foster family. It wasn't here in our district but I am afraid that news will make our job harder. It's essential that new settlers integrate into the community." John looked tired and dispirited too.

"What do you mean when you say integrate?" Michonne asked. Rural Lincoln was a white area, was he afraid of a while backlash to Black settlers?

"He means that we want our new settlers to be seen as productive citizens with skills that the whole community needs." Ashley had been up all night with damage control. She and John had been sent to the crime scene to help calm the neighbors and to see if they could piece together what had gone so terribly wrong. "We trust our settlers but we want you to be sensitive to problems before it escalates. Settlers aren't servants and I want you to pay attention to the relationship between "foster" and "settler". "

John took up the conversation, "We want you to visit the settlers at their placement, but never go anywhere alone. You too can take care of yourselves but take a man with you. I know that sounds chauvinistic but we're living in frontier times. There are men out there that will see you trophies and having a man or two with you would make them more likely to back off. Your offices are in town and if you could come in tomorrow morning then we will begin training you. You'll go with us next week because it will be our turn to select new settlers. We need you to help us. You understand the world that they are coming from better than us".

Andrea laughed, "I want to know why you wanted us so badly. I think it was a brilliant move because we are smart hard working people but what criteria did you use to make that decision?"

Ashley handed Judith back to Carol. "I always go early on selection day and watch the group come in. I look for certain things when I watch. The first one I noticed was Merle," The others laughed a little nervously but Ashley went on, "I saw the cocky rough demeanor, the bayonet arm, and the ultimate asshole that is Merle." The others nodded, no mistaking that even to a casual eye. "Merle got out of the truck and took a good look around and then nodded to the woman inside. Christie who is the polar opposite of Merle got out and he moved to stand beside her. She is strong but gentle and she exudes goodness. It was obvious that they were together and that he loved her. Then I saw Caleb and knew that they his parents. How bad could he really be if he loved her?"

"I watched the rest of you. Lots of women in the group and not one woman acted afraid or submissive to the men. That's a tell for me. The men must be treating you well. Your group was more likely to be content to stay if the men had reason to build new lives here. There were children in the group and it looked like everybody watched out for them. There was love there. Carol and Daryl with each other and the girls but not just romantic love. Everybody loves Hershel, and let's face it, everybody loves Merle. A group that loves its leaders but aren't blind followers is one that I want living next to the people I love." Ashley finished with a yawn.

"Christie and Sasha are coming over and I would like to talk with them here if you don't mind". John was exhausted and wanted to just go home and go to bed. There were so many holes in the dike and they were running out of fingers to keep it plugged. He and Ashley needed help and were here to ask for it.

TWDTWD

Christie considered the proposition carefully. They wanted her to head up the local clinic. There were nurses there and there was a doctor who visited one day a week. They needed help and the badly needed someone who could organize the clinic to be more efficient. Christie had become a nurse to help the sick and went on to become a nurse practitioner so that she could do more. "I will do everything that I can to help". She wondered if she should talk about this with Merle because he was going to go full out Merle when he found out.

Ashley and John smiled but there was more, "The clinic has its pharmacy built in there. We don't have a lot of medicines it still attracts the attention of the local thieves and druggies…..We need you to convince Merle that he needs to be our bouncer… The bad guys will stay away if they think Merle is in the house." Ashley had convinced jurors of all sorts of things but she figured that Merle would only go if he thought that Christie needed him.

Christie saw their logic, but they needed the truth, "Merle has been in prison for drug problems." They both nodded not dissuaded by learning of Merle's previous drug use.

John turned to Sasha, "Hershel is the only veterinarian in our area. We need him to train farmers to take care of their animals. We need you to coordinate run his office. We also need Tyreese. Hershel needs a strong man around to help with things that he can't do anymore because of his age or his leg. Will you talk to him? We need both of you." Sasha nodded. It wasn't the job that she had been trained for but it was a way to give back to the community.

Ashley turned to Carol and smiled, "You are a steel magnolia if there was ever one. We want you to work in the clinic. We are going to have a baby boom anytime. Christie will need to do a lot of training for others in maternal health, home deliveries, and proper care for infants and children. We need you to work on that with her". Carol nodded but she wondered about her girls and Judith.

"The clinic is open three days a week. So you will have time to keep up with other things. My aunts have volunteered to watch Judith and your girls. They were school teachers and they like kids." Ashley was ready to go to her room and crash. "We want to start tomorrow so if you can get there by eight that would be great. The doctor is there tomorrow too. Sasha, the vet clinic will be next door so you all can ride together. In fact, all of you will be working on the same street."

That afternoon they all worked at their farm across the hill. John had the local highway bring a dozer and the old farm that had lain fallow for thirty years was transformed. The new tractor was used at the middle farm to plow up new gardens and there was work on fences, It was all work, rough and hard, but there was a quiet joy toward it. This plowed ground would yield food for them. These downed trees would produce heat in the winter. Everything they did was to sustain their lives and the people they loved. It was easy work.

TWDTWD

Carl had stationed himself beside of Caleb while they worked in the garden that morning. He mentioned that his family had moved and that there was a house empty. Carl told Caleb that he needed to move fast if he wanted a home for him and Beth. Caleb didn't like being schooled by a boy as young as Carl but he took his advice.

Caleb talked with Beth that morning and then to Hershel who seemed less surprised than he would have thought. Hershel gave them his blessing and then the wedding was set for Friday evening three days away.

TWD TWD

That evening after dinner Christie told Merle that she was going to work at the clinic in town the next day. Merle smiled gently and said, "Fuck, no way in hell you are going to be working in some clinic. Every drug addict and thief in the county will be walking in there and you won't be able to stop them. You are staying where I can protect you."

Christie smiled gently, "Then you had better take the job they offered you this morning. We need somebody to keep the place in order and scare the bad guys away. They want you to be our bouncer." She continued smiling through several minutes of Merle venting about being a damn baby sitter and it was some damn charity job for the cripple.

Finally, Merle was through with his rant, "When do we go to work?" His voice was sullen and she suspected that there was more colorful and profane things to be said.

"Tomorrow morning but it is only three days a week. So we'll have time to work on the garden and do the other things we need to do. Now put a smile on your face. Let's walk over to Carol's and hang out a while. You can talk to Daryl and Carol is going to work with us". Christie was hoping that they all could walk to their farm and look over what they had gotten done this afternoon. Merle followed her out the door and over toward the other house.

"So Daryl is just finding out that his little mouse will be away from the nest. He ain't gonna like that, you know. He likes his little mouse a whole damn bunch and he wants her to stay close to him the whole fucking day. He won't be able to do jack shit if he is worrying about her".

Christie countered with, "That is why you are going to be with us, my sweet Merle. The only person he would trust with Carol is you. He knows that you are the baddest motherfucker in the Lincoln and you ain't gonna let no redneck druggie mess with your women". Christie delivered the last sentence in a dead on imitation of Merle's raspy voice.

Merle laughed and laughed. "That is the first time I ever heard you use that kinda language. I get it. Old Merle will watch over the hen house. I do like being the cock of the walk. Always have and always will." He strutted a bit to show her that he still had it.

They were able to talk the others into a walk. Daryl and Carol were still in the pissed off stage. Carol had talked reasonably and he had gotten angry and slammed out. He was out in the woods somewhere and Merle told her to join the group in a walk. He would find him out there and talk him down. "He ain't mad, you know. He's scared something will happen to you. I get mad and yell and Christie just waits me out. Anger scares Daryl. He don't handle it well. He won't hurt you, but he'll shut down. I'll kick his ass good for you".

Merle caught his track early. The ground was soft and he followed the trail easily. Daryl was sitting on a big rock and didn't move when he saw Merle. Merle sat down beside of Daryl for a bit without talking. "Daryl, I am going to kick your ass up between your ears if you do this running off shit again. Carol is a fine woman but she needs you to be an equal partner. This job is something that she would be good at and she should do. Christie needs her and I will protect her. Getting out if you are mad is one thing, but getting out because you are scared ain't all manly. Women want manly. That sensitive shit never got anybody laid."

Daryl nodded, "You are right. I just thought about her getting hurt by some asshole or getting kidnapped. I know she can take of walkers but it's the damn people that scare me".

Merle hugged him suddenly, "I know Lil Brother. I pray all the damn time that nothing will happen to the people I love. I'll have to start asking for you to stop being such a damn pussy too. Now, everyone is walking to the farm and looking at what we got done today and you are going to be doing tomorrow while I am baby sitting over at the clinic. Let's go".

Daryl smirked at Merle praying, but he had caught him reading the Bible several times as the compound. Merle was a damn mystery even to himself.

They took a short cut through the woods and came out at the middle farm. The others were looking at the newly plowed garden and Jesse was showing them where they would plant in the morning. Daryl saw Carol with the girls and headed toward her. She looked at him but he didn't get a big smile. The girls went with Carl to check out the barn cats that had managed to survive the ZA and winter.

Daryl said, "Let me show you something" and offered his hand to Carol. She took it and he steered her toward the side of the meadow where the chimney of a house sat. He led her toward a spot close to the old chimney where there was a couple of concrete blocks. "Sit here, please". Carol sat.

"This is where the living room in our home is gonna be. If we put a window here we can see clear over to that line of hills, and the porch will be right here". Daryl moved to show her where everything would be. "I think we should have the dining area over here where we'll get sun in the winter. The kitchen right here so I can talk to you while you cook and you can talk to me when I cook. Bedroom and bathroom here so when we don't have to climb stairs when we get old. Laundry back of the kitchen. Upstairs two bedrooms and a bath."

Carol had watched Daryl describe their new home and her anger had dissipated. She wasn't letting him off the hook yet. She just watched him steadily.

Daryl flushed a bit. He was pretty damn sure that he was going to have to apologize and he better make it honest or it wouldn't be work with Carol. "I am sorry that I acted like an idiot. I should have stayed and talked this over with you like an adult."

Carol gave him her happiest smile and he felt his heart lift again. Everything had changed for them here. He was trying to become a farmer and a father. He was living in a home instead of on the road or in a prison. The only constant was the way her felt about Carol. He loved her. That was never going to change.

AN

**Please review**


	22. Tiskewah

**This is just a short chapter to establish that the group will be working off the farm. Carol, Christie, and Merle are working at a health clinic. Andrea and Michonne are working with Ashley in resettlement. **

Tiskewah

Christie and Merle left for town before anyone else the next morning. Sasha and Tyreese were driving Hershel over in the middle of the morning. Carol, Andrea, and Michonne tried to leave at the same time as Christie and Merle. Carol woke Lizzie and Mika up in plenty of time but both girls were dragging the feet this morning. Andrea and Michonne had readied Judith and her bag before the two girls were finally ready. Somewhere during the walk to sister's house Carol realized that the girls didn't want her to leave. So instead to hurrying them along she took their reluctant hands and began to talk about what they would do together when she got back this afternoon. They didn't walk any faster but she did understand why for the first time Lizzie returned her hug. Mika promised to help watch Judith when she hugged Carol goodbye.

Andrea scooted over closer to Michonne so that Carol could squeeze in the truck. The directions to Tiskewah were easy. Go back to the highway and stay on the road until you get to the courthouse. They wound down the hill and then onto a relatively flat road with empty houses. Then the road turned to follow a river. There was a river on one side and a rocky steep hillside on the other and Michonne could feel herself tense up. This was a perfect spot for an ambush, but in a mile or two they entered into the town of Tiskewah, the county seat of Tiskewah.

It looked like any little town in the middle of nowhere. A few grocery stores, restaurants, dollar stores, convenience stores, and a pharmacy. The modern courthouse faced the war memorials and the old courthouse which looked to be a least a century old. Michonne parked in the lot behind the courthouse. Andrea and Michonne walked Carol to the clinic. Merle opened the door and let her in. Andrea and Michonne walked toward the courthouse.

John Samples invited her to sit in what must be the waiting room. He introduced her as Carol McAllister which was her maiden name. She met Dr. Patel a thin quiet man with kind eyes, Heather, Samantha, and Julie were all nurses. Morgan was their receptionist and Sally was the janitor. John did most of the talking. The Provisional Government of the Virginias wanted to establish free health care in each county. Dr. S would be furnished with a car and a bodyguard at all times when he visited the county clinics. The staff members of the clinics would be paid in food and fuel. They could trade their food and fuel for other things that they needed.

John introduced Christie and Merle last. He stated clearly that Christie was in charge of the operation. She would make assignments and do evaluations of all staff members. They should bring all their concerns to her as the head of the clinic. Merle was head of security. He was there to keep the staff safe first and then the patients in their care.

John got a call on his radio and he left. Christie began asking questions and soon there was a free flowing conversation about how to do their job better. Carol smiled and thought how Christie got the best out of Merle and Caleb.

Carol and Morgan began organizing the files. Morgan was biracial and a native of Tiskewah County. She had been packing her bags for college when the ZA hit and she lost her entire family before the day was over. Morgan lived in a women's dormitory in the high school. Morgan seemed to take everything in stride; she was funny and Carol found herself laughing at the quietly outrageous Morgan and at the loudly outrageous Merle. They seemed to be kindred souls. Morgan had used her sharp tongue and her wit as a way to survive and thrive growing up Black in a predominantly white area. Merle was Merle and no one ever knew what he was going to say next.

There was a pounding on the door and Merle sauntered over. Carol and Morgan watched him apprehensively. The door pounded again and Merle jerked it open and two skinny men tried to push in past him. Merle grabbed the first one by his left hand and put his bayonet hand to his front, "Motherfucker, my name is Merle Dixon and you better remember that name. It's the name of the man who is going to cut your throat if you piss me off. You and your pussy friend better turn your sorry asses around. Don't come around here again. I don't play pretty. I would just as soon cut your throat and hold the other asshole while you chomp on him. Don't bother me none. Just nod yes if you want to live."

The first man nodded mindful of the knife at his throat. Merle released him but grabbed the other one by the balls. "Now unless you want to be singing soprano in some choir in hell you better get out of here." Merle released him and the two backed up and ran. Morgan stood up and applauded. "Give me some bayonet!" and she held her hand up so that Merle could tap her hand with his bayonet. Carol shook her head; she suspected that Morgan was going to be a bad influence on Merle.

Merle went outside and stood on the street for a while. He wanted the locals to know who he was and be afraid of him. He wasn't going to let anything happen to Christie, Carol, or his new best friend, Morgan. He wondered if he could talk Christie into letting him take Morgan home with them. Caleb looked like him but he thought like Christie. Morgan looked more like Christie but she thought just like him.

Carol spent the afternoon with Heather who was a midwife nurse and in charge of the maternal health division. Heather looked a little shaky to Carol and she suspected that she had ongoing alcohol/drug problems. Heather was an experience midwife though and she gave Carol some books to read. Carol glanced at the photos and thought that she better keep these from Daryl. Too much information.

The day went very quickly and it was soon time to go. Morgan caught a school bus that returned the workers to the dormitories at the high school. Carol caught a ride home with Christie and Merle. Two soldiers showed up to guard the clinic during the night.

TWDTWD

Andrea and Michonne spent the morning with Ashley. She went through a procedure book on their jobs and showed them their office. It was a nice space that overlooked the courthouse square and had been used as a meeting room before all this. It was furnished with two desks and chairs. Two file cabinets and a large map of Tiskewah County. The each received a service pistol on a belt and boxes of ammo. Ashley waited until they put the pistols on. She was leaving with them to go check out a prospective foster family when John came in. "Who are you taking with you?" he asked.

Ashley looked a bit sulky. "I have Michonne and Andrea. We can take care of ourselves. We are just going to take the river road to Big Otter."

John said, "I'll go with you. You know the rules. I would like to talk to Sam anyway."

Sam was Sam O'Brien, a fit man in his seventies. He met them on the front porch of his white farmhouse. There was a barn off to the side and the gravel road was clear of holes and debris. Sam shook John's hand and hugged Ashley. Sam regarded Andrea and Michonne for a moment, shrugged his shoulders and said, "I thought I was getting a traditional settler family but hey, I can be flexible. If you two ever change your orientation, just let me know." He had a twinkle in his eye and they knew they had been played.

Ashley laughed, "Sam, don't pick on my friends. They are being fostered at Coulter Farm. We are going tomorrow to pick up some new settlers. Are you ready for company?"

Sam's cheery face grew more sober, "I am ready. The workers came in yesterday and helped me clear out the house. This place has been in the O'Brien family a long time, but I just want it to stay a farm. I want to think children will be playing on the porch and there will be the sound of laughter in the house again. Let's walk through the house".

Andrea and Michonne saw that the house had been adapted for the realities of the times. Sam mentioned that they had free natural gas and there was a hot water heater, gas stove, gas refrigerator, and a wood stove to heat the house. Sam had a small bedroom close to a bathroom on the bottom floor and there were three bedrooms and a bath upstairs.

John and Sam went to check on something and the women sat on the front porch. "It's a beautiful house," Andrea commented. The house had wood floors and beautiful mantles.

Ashley agreed, "Sam and his wife kept the place spotless. They had three children and several grandchildren and only Sam made it through. We need to find good people for him. I would love to have a family if we can find one. The farm next door is empty so if we could find a big group they could stay here until they have the other place ready".

Their next stop was to a deserted farm further up the road. Michonne pulled out her katana as they walked toward the house. This house was another white farmhouse but it looked lonely and desolate. Andrea automatically checked her weapons and Ashley and John pulled out their pistols and checked to make sure that they were ready.

"The place has been checked out twice but the deadheads just wander around the woods sometimes. Be careful". John wasn't surprised when Michonne led the way. The woman was a warrior for sure. Michonne took each step slowly while she listened for the telltale moans of walkers. Andrea was behind her but far enough way so that Michonne could swing the katana. Ashley and John stayed behind them. There was a walker coming around the wraparound porch and then Ashley heard the deadhead shuffle behind her. She whirled around with her pistol already drawn and saw two deads headed toward her and John. Ashley lined up a head shot to the one closest to her and then took down the next one in line. The pistol shot sounded very loud and John visibly jumped.

Michonne glanced back and then back to the walker lurching toward her. She stepped back so that she had room to swing her sword and in one sure swing she decapitated the walker. Andrea followed the still rolling head to a stop and then used her knife to fully end its existence.

They all stood still for a bit to see if the noise from the pistols attracted any attention. John checked the bodies. "They were shot and I don't recognize them. Might be raiders. They look like they turned in the last day or so. Let's warn the neighbors and check things out on this road." He turned and walked toward the barn. Ashley sighed and started after him. They both look devastated.

Michonne felt their despair. They wanted to rebuild an agrarian community that could sustain itself, but they couldn't control everything that happened. A group of raiders could start off another round of deaths. "Just another day in the office, heh?"

Andrea shook her head, "Well, it seems like old times to be killing walkers with you. I can see why we go out in groups. I am not going out without you. I am too beautiful to die young".

Michonne laughed and they followed John and Ashley. The barn was empty and they got back in the jeep. John stopped at the next house and blew the horn. The door opened and a woman came out carrying a baby. John walked toward the house and talked with the woman for a few minutes. "She said that her husband and son were up on the high meadow, but they are armed. We'll check with them on the way back."

The whole group was home at the next house and invited them in for a meal. They had a large farm and it was in good condition. John warned them and they promised to be careful.

The next house was empty but John said that it was ready for settlement. The next house would be the last house on this road. John stopped in the driveway and blew his horn. A woman came to the porch and said, "Can I help you?"

Michonne got out of the jeep. "Andrea get out this way, Ashley get out and John come out this way." She had seen a man standing in the window with a rifle. It was a trap. John had not recognized the woman and was already crawling out the jeep and pushing Ashley ahead of him. Michonne bolted for the creek and Andrea followed. The crack of a rifle behind them warned them that they had to get out of the jeep. Michonne and Andrea grabbed their pistols and fired a couple of shots at the general direction of the house in hopes that Ashley and John could escape. Ashley was behind the jeep and she fired at the house with her pistol. John had gotten into the back of the jeep by the backseat and pulled out a rifle. He covered Ashley while she ran for the creek and then he took off behind the barn. The jeep blew up when a rifle shot hit the gas tank.

Andrea said, "Damn, that pissed me off. I had my purse in there. These shitheads are messing up my day." They listened while John returned fire at the house.  
Ashley moved toward them. "Let's work down the creek, cross the road, and come in from the back". They moved quickly down the creek bed and crossed over where there were enough trees for cover.

Andrea said, "I hear a vehicle. They are coming this way. We'll have to try to stop them before they get away."

They got behind the trees and Michonne was glad that they were firing in the same direction. She just had enough time to check her ammo. Andrea was a much better shot than she was. Ashley seemed confident with her weapon.

The extended cab truck was headed straight at them. Andrea settled herself and stepped out and emptied her pistol at the windshield of the truck which swerved and hit the creek bed. Andrea began reloading and Michonne moved toward the truck and picked off the woman who was trying to pull herself out of the backseat. Ashley moved behind the truck and shot the man jumping out the other side. John came running up and he fired his rifle into the truck.

Ashley, Andrea, and Michonne stood as John lit the truck up with some gasoline. One of the men had tried to surrender and John had killed him. This was this world. The marauders had killed the family that had lived here for over twenty years. Their bodies were thrown out back. The Tanners had fought back and killed at least three of them who had wandered down the road probably sometime last night.

They walked back down the road and caught a ride to town on the back of a pickup truck. John was reporting the crime to the army and they would handle it from then. Ashley jumped off the back of the truck, "Let's go home. The Sisters make wine you know. Let's get cleaned up, eat some dinner, and we'll break open a bottle or two, or maybe three."

John asked, "Am I invited? I'm hungry and I could use a drink".

Ashley shrugged her shoulders, "I'll give you a ride over since your jeep is in about a thousand pieces."

John and Ashley brought a six pack of wine bottles over after dinner. The wine was good and most of the group sat on the deck and drank wine as the sun went down. They drank a toast to the four that escaped death on a beautiful spring day.

AN

**Tiskewah is a Native American word for "The River of the Fat Elk". I thought that this was going to be just an introduction to their new jobs but you know the muse. She likes action.**

**Please give a review. I do appreciate feedback. Next story will be more fluffy, maybe.**


	23. Surprise Heroes

**Daryl and Rick are often the heroes of TWD, but I think you will find that the hero title can be spread out to some different people.**

Surprise Heroes

Carol had come home from her second day of work to find Daryl, Rick, and Jesse in a huddle in the living room. Andrea and Michonne had dropped her off at the big house to pick up Judith and the girls. She carried Judith and the girls carried the diaper bag and they chatted on the way to their house. Carol was smiling as she came in because it always felt good to come home.

Michonne was standing in the living room with her arms crossed and a scowl on her face. Andrea looked unhappy, but took Judith and the girls upstairs. Daryl had not looked at her and Carol saw that they were looking at a map. Her heart sank, and she went on into the bedroom and changed her clothes. She put on the blue Tiskewah baseball shirt and a pair of capris. The weather was warm and sunny and she wanted to be outside this evening. Daryl came into the bedroom and sat down on the bed, "We're going on a run".

Carol counted to ten, "Where are you going?" She kept her voice level because it wanted to break.

Daryl sighed, "We're going to go back to that feed store we stayed in that night and get as much feed and seed as we can get. We have the hayfields plowed and we need seed. The government has already given their allotment out for this year. There isn't any left for our farm this year. That place had everything we need and all we have to do is get down there, load it up, and bring it home".

Carol thought of all the reasons why this was a terrible idea, but held her tongue. Daryl was trying to reinvent himself as a farmer. The ultimate outside cat was trying to become an inside cat, but there would always be a wildness about him. He saw this as just one more run and she could fight him on this but he would go anyway. The door to this cage had to be left open so that the wild cat could go in and out as he needed to. She kept her voice steady as she asked, "What do you need to take?"

Daryl felt his anxiety slide away. He wasn't afraid of the run; he just didn't want Carol to be angry at him for going. She was probably scared and pissed but she would know that it was for their farm. It was for their future. "We'll be able to walk by those fields and see the hay as high as your head. We're going to grow oats, wheat, barley, and all kinds of food for the winter." He moved toward her and engulfed her in his arms, "Be safe while I am gone".

Upstairs Michonne and Jesse were having a similar conversation. "Why in the hell do you think you should do this?" Michonne was beyond angry. She had put her trust in Jesse as the guy who used his brain instead of his brawn. He really didn't know all that much about surviving the ZA.

She saw fire fly out of his blue eyes and she was that he was really angry with her. "Do you think I am too weak to make it out there? That I am just some nerd who ought to stay home and let my woman do the dangerous work?" His voice was deceptively soft and Michonne remembered hearing her grandmother say, "A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger". For a moment Michonne saw her grandmother shaking her head at her and quoting scripture at her. She missed her so much.

Jesse saw Michonne's face change from anger to bleakness. He knew that she loved him and she had lost everybody in her family. She needed him to be here for her in this strange land. He knew she was a woman who would risk everything for a friend as she did with Andrea. She could do the "dangerous work" better than he could but this was not about him proving himself. He understood what they needed to make the farms more productive better than anyone else.

"I don't want anything to happen to you". Michonne's voice was gentle. She wanted him to stay but would accept whatever his decision was.

"This isn't me trying to prove myself a warrior. I know what we need and the others don't. If we go now, then we can get the seed in for this year. We'll be able to cut hay by the end of summer. We'll have grain crops that will bear this year. It means everything Michonne. Right now we are depending on the government to sustain us. That might end at any time. I want us to be able to take care of ourselves." Jesse spoke softly too, but he was determined to go and she just held him close.

Andrea went upstairs and put Judith down. She had adjusted to life in Tiskewah easily. She had Michonne and Carol. She had a job that was challenging but rewarding. She had a life here and she didn't understand why the men had to risk everything to gun on this run. She had left the door ajar and she saw Rick standing there and she waved him in. There was a chair beside Judith's crib and Rick sat down on it.

"Carl isn't going; he isn't going to like it but he is staying. He can take care of himself here, but will you look after Judith when I am gone?" Rick's blue eyes looked anxiously at Andrea. He knew the others would love and take care of his daughter while he was gone, but Andrea had a special bond with Judith.

Andrea nodded, "Don't stay gone too long now. Carl and Judith need their father. I think you and I had better get some dinner going soon. Carol is not going to take this well and Michonne may be sharpening up her katana right now. We had better get a farewell party started." She stood up and Rick followed her downstairs. They left the door ajar so that they could hear Judith.

Dinner that night was surprisingly good. "Where did you get the canned beef?" Jesse asked.

Andrea laughed, "Capt. Johnson gave it to me. We get our pay in food and he just gave me this early".

Michonne snickered, "Capt. Johnson has the hots for our Andrea. He is trying to buy her love.

Andrea smiled, "Just enjoy it, my friends. I can be bought but it will take a lot more than a can of beef."

Everyone laughed but Rick who didn't seem to think it was all that damn funny. Andrea had made a cake and no asked where the ingredients to make that happened to be in the house. That evening they took a walk through the farm and the men pointed out where they were planting the seed that they were going after.

Carol asked Daryl, "Who is going on this expedition?"

Daryl said, "Jesse and Caleb in one truck, Glenn and John in one truck, Rick and I are taking an army Humvee. John is getting the trucks and the fuel and we are giving part of the haul to John to give out to the other settlers. There is something else. Merle and Tyreese are going and they are going to Woodbury to tell them about resettlement."

Carol recognized a lie when she saw one. "You and Rick are going too, aren't you?"

Daryl flushed, "Yeah, if they need us too. Merle and Tyreese are driving an army bus. Woodbury is our last link to Georgia, but we owe it to those people to give them a chance to make it up here if they want."

Carol saw that her outside cat was also a man of honor. "I understand why you would do it, but it is their decision. You might leave the bus and let them come when they are ready."

That night they sat out on the deck until all the stars came out. They discussed building a fire pit and they ate the rest of the cake. Carol took Lizzie and Mika upstairs to get ready for bed, "Do you have to go to work tomorrow?" Mika asked. Carol assured her she did, but she would be home for the next four days after that. Lizzie didn't say anything but she had been visibly upset when she found out that the men were leaving. She had been very quiet all evening. Carol kissed Mika and Lizzie goodnight.

Daryl had taken a shower by the time she got back to their room. Carol got ready for bed and slid in beside of him. Daryl smiled at her and hugged her close and ran his hands all over her body as if he wanted to feel as much of her as possible. Carol loved the touch on his hands on her. His hands were rough and calloused but he was always gentle. His hands never hurt her and soon he would kiss her and then it was all become about their mutual need to have sex. She enjoyed this and she would enjoy the sex.

Later she kissed him goodnight, and Daryl murmured against her ear, "Tell me good night and good morning when I am gone and I will you too." Carol began crying then and Daryl held her until she fell asleep. He felt a little like crying too; he didn't want to go.

Michonne demanded every detail of the trip from Jesse. He told her as much as he actually knew. She was worried about the Woodbury side trip but understood why they were going. She felt sorry for Christie; this trip was taking Merle, Caleb, and Jesse into dangerous ground. "How is Beth taking this? She and Caleb were supposed to get married this weekend?"

Jesse shrugged, "I think they postponed it until the end of next week. Hershel seems okay with them now that he knows that they are getting married. Now what about us? When do you want to get married?"

Michonne thought about getting married. She had avoided it like the plague in the old days, but Jesse was so traditional. "Let's wait until autumn and the farm isn't keeping you quite so busy. I want to be married on that rock cliff with the view of our farm. How about that?"

Jesse said, "That sounds wonderful. You are such a romantic, my little ninja".

Michonne muttered, "Let's just have sex, and if you don't come back I am coming after you my katana".

"You are such a romantic, my little ninja," Jesse turned off the light and kissed her.

They left before daylight the next morning. Carol and Michonne were up to see them off. Rick had left Carl asleep downstairs and was checking his bag in the living room when Andrea brought Judith downstairs. Rick smiled at them and took Judith. Andrea had a bottle ready but Judith seemed content to watch her father as he talked to her. Reluctantly, he gave Judith back to Andrea who took her upstairs. The others had drifted out to the truck and when he came out they got into the truck. Caleb, Glenn, Tyreese and Merle were just passing by and they followed them to the garage where John would be waiting.

The next few days were quiet on the farm. Carl moved to the living room. The girls sort of gravitated toward sleeping in Carol's room while Daryl was gone. Michonne hung out with Carl and Andrea took care of Judith.

TWDTWD

The trip through Lincoln toward the tunnels was quick and they were stopped by an army patrol as they entered Washington. John had all sorts of documents that seemed to please them and they were soon their way. They were stopped at the North Carolina border and then waved through.

Daryl was pleased with John's efficiency. The man was a total nerd but he knew logistics. They had two large trucks and fuel for them. Inside the trucks were dollies and a fork lift to move the supplies. There were MREs for food and ammo for the weapons. If planning could make a run go smoothly then they were gold.

They got there in the early evening. They had remembered their route well enough to avoid blocked roads and they had made good time. They hid the trucks behind the buildings and settled in for the night. Jesse had went through the building marking what they were putting on their truck and the rest went to John. Jesse and John saw that there was a large load of fertilizer and they decided to load that last if they had room.

The next morning Merle, Daryl, John, and Tyreese left for Woodbury. Tyreese was driving the army bus that the people of Woodbury could use to go to the Virginias. Daryl was driving the Humvee and even Merle was subdued. They had seen and evaded several small herds but they were all nervous. They got to Woodbury by noon and beeped to enter. Martinez and Oscar opened the gates. Merle swaggered out of the Humvee and talked to the two men privately. Then there was a town meeting so that Woodbury could decide for itself.

John spoke first and Daryl remembered that John was a lawyer. He outlined his case for them to go to the Virginias. They would be under the protection of the Provisional Governments of the Virginias. They could become settlers or workers within the community. John told the older members of Woodbury that they would be "fostered" into families or they could live in nursing homes. They could make the decision now and they could travel back in the convoy or they could come on their own later on.

Merle talked next, "I live in Lincoln which is mostly hills and small farms. It ain't paradise. There are still some biters and marauders around but you'll have a chance there to become a farmer and settle land that will belong to you. I have a good life there and I hope you come with us today. I saw way too many walkers on my way here. We are leaving in an hour because we need to get back to a safer place by dark."

John had a long conversation with Milton who seemed to have been the one who kept Woodbury running. Milton was ready to go but wanted to begin dismantling all their solar panels right now.

It took less than an hour to decide. They were ready. They had been on short rations since the fall of the Governor. They had been too afraid to leave Woodbury to plant their crops and there wasn't much room inside to grow food.

Milton had organized a team to dismantle their equipment and load their supplies. The entire town was on the bus or the trucks before another thirty minutes and the convoy started back. The road onto the highway was blocked by a herd and Martinez and Oscar drove their truck toward it with the radio blasting and they slowly drove across the field with the herd following until the convoy had passed through. They barely escaped the herd as it almost encircled them but they were able to push through it at the last minute. Daryl and Merle were watching and holding their breath. Merle said, "Shit, those guys are fucking nuts". Daryl figured that was high praise from Merle.

John and Milton sat on the bus and talked about logistics. John had already decided to ask Milton to come to Tiskewah. They could use all the nerds they could get.

Tyreese was driving and talking to the pretty woman who was sitting behind him. Her name was Karen and she sitting with her son who had asthma. She seemed like an intelligent capable woman and he asked what job she had had "before". Karen had laughed and said, "Kindergarten teacher". Tyreese said, "That explains the air of competence and authority you have. I was a History teacher and a football coach and that explains why I am driving the bus". She had laughed at that and Tyreese had laughed too. He told her funny stories about his student's lack of knowledge about history and she laughed and it was a short journey for them.

Woodbury convoy got back at dark and they parked out back. The trucks were loaded but the group was on high alert. There had been several trucks go by and the men on the truck looked rough. They posted several guards that night and no one got very much sleep.

Daylight came and Daryl and Merle went on recon. The marauders had laid a trap for them about a half a mile up the road. They scurried back and reported the news to the others. Jesse said, "If we go down this back street and go right instead of left we will eventually get to the highway on this road and he used their map to show the other route.

Merle said, "When we don't show up there in a little while they are going to come looking with gun blazing. They'll just attack us here or on the road when they find us".

Jesse was quiet for a few moments. "Leave me a vehicle and take off now. John and Milton will stay with me. We'll be along in a while. Get going but leave the fork lift here."

John said, "I got your back, Jesse. I know what you are up to. Come on, Milton. It's time for revenge of the nerds."

The others pulled out quietly while the three men worked frantically. They had left their vehicle with a key in it and the doors open at the back of the building. They moved heavy bags along the gates of the building and made a huge heap in the middle. Jesse and John worked on a small gasoline bomb and Milton build a one with a slower fuse for the outside. They waited until they could see the trucks down the road toward them and then lit their homemade explosives and ran like hell for the truck. John loved to drive fast and he knew that he had better move this truck out of the way quick. He was well away when the first blast ignited the huge heap of fertilizer inside the building. The blast leveled the building and threw debris for blocks. The next blast blew out all of the gates and turned the debris into shrapnel. The marauders were killed either by the blast, the shrapnel, or by their own exploding vehicles.

The blast shook John's truck and the debris rained down on him but they were safe and moving behind their group toward the highway. Farther on, Daryl and Merle heard the blast and felt the explosion. It was a subdued group that met up on the highway. They reviewed the map and got ready to go leave when they heard the sound of a single truck rushing toward them. John, Milton, and Jesse got out of the truck and took some well deserved high fives and then they all got in their vehicles and went the hell north out of Georgia, the Carolinas, and toward home.

The people of Woodbury were detained at the border of Virginia, but John was able to have them sent to Lincoln. They would stay at the hotel until they could be processed and he was hoping to bring many of them to Tiskewas. Tyreese said goodbye to Karen and said that he was hoping that she could to Tiskewah. She smiled and said that she was planning on it.

The trucks were heavily loaded and that slowed them down across the mountains but they were going home and that was all that mattered. They dropped one truck off and drove John toward the farm. Ashley could take him home later. They dropped John off at Warren's house and saw Ashley walk toward John and hug him. So much for their lifelong antagonistic relationship Daryl thought, John might be a nerd but he was a damn hero to build a bomb and wait there to detonate it with bloodthirsty marauders coming at him.

Merle drove on to his house and Daryl got out to be greeted by Carol and his girls. Rick and Jesse were already being hugged by Carl and Michonne. Andrea waited by the door with Judith. Capt. Nelson had contacted Sasha at work and told her that they had passed through into Virginia so they knew they were coming.

They ate dinner that night as a family and then they walked back through the dusk to look at their fields. Tomorrow morning they would begin sowing their seeds. They spent the rest of the evening on the deck talking about their adventures. Daryl talked about Woodbury and how Oscar and Martinez had led the big herd away. Then, Rick told them that Jesse had been the big hero of their trip and Jesse told his story simply. He and John had meant to load the fertilizer last and they knew how explosive it was. They had designed a gasoline bomb to detonate the fertilizer. They had waited until the marauders were close and set them off and then they took off.

That night Daryl told Carol that his Humvee had shook when the blast went off and he was probably a mile or more away when it blew. She had rubbed his shoulder, "I am glad that you are home. I missed you and so did the girls. She kissed him goodnight, and he said, "I was a hero too, you know. I think I deserve a hero's return".

She had laughed, "You told me that you were tired and had to get up early to go sow seed. So what does a hero get for his return?"

Daryl laughed, "He gets to sow his seed".

Carol smiled, "I think the field needs some preparation work. Come here, Farmer Dixon."

Daryl kissed her, "I think I can handle the prep work. I am not that damn tired."

Upstairs, Michonne had already welcomed her hero home and was hoping for a repeat performance. She made him tell her the story again. "You could have been killed."

Jesse laughed, "I know, I was scared shitless the whole time. I just knew I would be lying wounded and bleeding waiting for death and you would show up and slice my head off for leaving you. That was what I was really scared would happen."

Michonne said, "I'm late."

Jesse said, "Does that mean that my seed has found purchase in you? Or that you are talking about your habitual tardiness".

Michonne said, "It seems that you do know how to plant your seed. I took a test this morning. It says I am pregnant. I am going to see the doctor next week."

Jesse said, "I am glad that you didn't tell me, I might not have tried to build that bomb if I had known."

Michonne said, "I love you, but don't think you can skip your attentions to me because of this baby. Come here Poppa and I'll show you some fireworks."

Jesse laughed, "I know how to rock your world, and don't forget it".

AN

**My dad and brother worked on a powder crew and they used fertilizer to blow up mountains. The Federal Building in Oklahoma City was destroyed by a fertilizer bomb.**

**I wanted to let Jesse be the hero in this one. **

**Please give a review. **

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	24. Cold May Rains

Cold May Rains

The next day everyone was busy on the farm. The men got up early and began unloading all their booty from the trip. They spent some time discussing the best way to get the job done and once that was settled they went home to breakfast. Then, the wagons were loaded with bags of seed and they began seeding the hayfields using hand broadcast seeders. There were seeds, fertilizers, and lime to be spread out. It was hard work but the women worked alongside.

They planted fields of barley, corn, oats, and rye. The women left before lunch to prepare the meal and then after lunch they all went back to work. Warren and Hershel were scanning the skies anxiously afraid that the gathering clouds would signal rain before they could get the seed in.

They worked until dark that evening but by the end of that long day they had a farm not just land. The gardens had been protected solar fencing which would keep the deer away. The long fields of grains were seeded and fertilized and they could all feel as if there was a way to live with the land and not just on it. The men kept walking along the side of their handiwork as if to make sure that it hadn't vanished.

The women had left earlier to prepare dinner. They had taken the opportunity to shower and to change their clothes. Michonne said, "What century are we living in? I feel as if we should go sacrifice a goat or something to the fertility gods to make sure that we have a good harvest."

Andrea groaned, "My back is killing me and my hands need a good manicure. Dear God, do we have to get up tomorrow and start all over."

Carol stretched her back out and laughed. "It wasn't that bad. Nothing is as bad as being on the road, never knowing where you were going to sleep that night. This is work but the pain is for all those nights that we will sleep under one roof".

They had redesigned the dining area while the men were gone. The sisters had a barn full of old furniture from what Jane had referred as an addiction to auctions. They found a long dining room table and then added a wing to it to accommodate all of them. The chairs were a mix match but there was enough for all and they left room for new arrivals.

The women cooked and Lizzie and Mika set the table. Judith slept in a basket in the living room. The men arrived with dusty clothes and shoes. They vanished to shower and to change. They returned quickly and they all sat down together. Jesse gave the blessing over the food and they ate their simple meal with complete enjoyment. They were enjoying their dessert of canned peaches when the sound of rain came in the open windows.

The men did the dishes while Carol, Michonne, and Andrea got ready for watch. Carol put the girls to bed. They were too tired to argue. Andrea got Judith's bottle ready and gave Rick a list of instructions that made him smile. He agreed to nap on her bed until she was finished with the watch and give Judith her bottle if she woke up. Michonne had a few minutes talking with Jesse before they left for watch.

It was raining steadily when they went to the watch barn. It was located close to the house and with a view of the other barns. The rain hit the tin roof of the barn like tiny hammers as they watched. Not being able to talk very much was a hindrance but they were all too afraid of raiders to break the rules. They watched from both sides of the barn loft and from cut out that had been put in since this all hit. They each carried a rifle, a pistol, and a knife. Even Michonne had a rifle handy. The wet was pervasive and they were cold, wet, and tired long before Christie, Sasha, and Beth showed up for the next watch.

They were glad to be back at their house. Andrea decided to just sleep in the living room and Carol gave her a blanket and a pillow. Michonne went upstairs and put on a dry nightshirt. She crawled into bed with Jesse glad to be out of the wet cold night.

Andrea heard Judith wake up and waited for the sounds that would show that Rick was up and feeding her but they didn't come. Wearily she left her couch and went upstairs. Judith was fussing but not loudly and Rick was sleeping through it. She grabbed some dry clothes and went into the bathroom to change thinking that Rick would rouse and feed Judith. Andrea found that he was still asleep and Judith in the dim solar night light looked ready to wake the house. Andrea changed her and sat down with her on the rocker beside her bed. Judith fussed for a bit as a way to express her displeasure in Andrea being so tardy, but she eventually ate her bottle and went back to sleep. Andrea looked longingly at her bed but went back downstairs to her cold couch. She fell asleep almost immediately and had sweet dreams about walking along the farm road with fields of grain waving in the wind.

Carol had changed into something warm and had slid into bed with Daryl. She was tired but couldn't seem to unwind enough to get to sleep. The sisters had told her that the cold May rains could go on for days and that they would just have to wait until they were over to get much done. Tomorrow was Sunday and while there was always work on a farm most things slowed down a bit then. Carol felt like she had been on a marathon for almost a year. It was hard to trust that this wasn't just another stop. She was sharing a bed and a life with Daryl and somehow they had acquired two daughters, but she was still afraid every morning when she woke up that it had all faded away in the night. She curled close to Daryl's warmth and gradually she relaxed enough to go to sleep.

Daryl and Jesse cooked breakfast the next morning. Andrea woke up and went upstairs and got Judith. Rick had finally woken up when she went upstairs and had gone downstairs and fixed a bottle for Judith. He apologized for sleeping through a feeding. Andrea had yawned and said that he was on probation. Rick went downstairs to get Carl up. Andrea fed Judith and they took a nap on her bed. Eventually everyone got breakfast and they spent the day indoors. Daryl and Rick took the weapons to the nearest barn and cleaned all of them. Jesse and Carl took care of the horses and cows. The girls splattered along behind them thoroughly. The erratic electricity came back on and the women did laundry. There was a lot to do because Tiskewah had clothing stores and they had settler points and worker points that can be spent toward acquiring the new and used clothing in those stores. Carol, Andrea, and Michonne had spent their points buying clothing for the family during their lunch hour. Carol had bought for her girls and Daryl. Michonne for Jesse and Carl. Andrea for Rick and Judith.

The next two days were rainy and cold. Carol worked at the clinic Monday through Wednesday and they had been busy because most settlers had taken advantage of the rain to visit the clinic and the town. The skies began to clear Tuesday morning and by that afternoon the temperature had risen to a comfortable temperature. The grass around the yards needed cut and everything that hadn't burst into bloom before was blooming now. Wednesday dawned clear and sunny and by midday everything was dry enough for the work to begin again.

AN

Hope you like this chapter. Please review.

.


	25. Summertime

**It is important to remember thatthis story that it takes place in Season Three and well before the events of Season Four. The ZA is not quite a year old and the corrosive effects of ooc writing aren't apparent. Daryl is not suffering from a midlife crisis and Carol has not become cold and indifferent. I get tired of all of the Rick drama and so my Rick basically is trying to keep his children alive and well.**

Summertime

Carol noticed that today was the first day of summer according to the calendar on the wall at the clinic. The weather was Lincoln warm but never Georgia hot. Heather was shaky today but had made it in to work and they had been busy. Merle had taken one look at the huge women waiting to see Heather and said to Morgan "The Big Guy might want to close some of those wombs up after this".

Morgan had laughed, "I blame it on no electricity. No television or video games. Stress relief from trying to stay alive. Boredom. Keeps us work from now on. Look out there at the ZA Baby Boom."

Merle noticed a young man pacing back and forth, "What is a "Y" chromosome doing here?"

"He must be with someone but I don't remember him checking in. I think he just came in." Morgan left Fort Morgan (her office area) and sauntered over to see if he was here with somebody.

The boy-man glanced at her and his helpless eyes seemed to light up. "My girlfriend is having a baby and we need some help, please".

Morgan thought he was very sweet and led him to Fort Morgan. He looked so lost when she handed him the standard forms that read it to him and wrote down his replies. His name was Sam and the girlfriend was named Ana. They were living on a small place outside of the town of Tiskewah on Elk River and had been there since April, but Ana had not been to see anyone at the Clinic. They didn't think she was due yet, but the baby was coming.

Morgan notified Heather who talked with Sam and then finished with her patients. She sent Sam back to take care of his girlfriend and asked Carol to come with her. There didn't seem to be any other women around and she might need some help and she asked if Daryl could go with them. Merle drove Carol home and she and Daryl went to Sam and Ana's place beside the river.

It was an A frame log house with a wraparound porch and room for gardens on either side. Daryl noted that the gardens had been plowed but the fences that had been erected around them had not been repaired. He wasn't surprised that there didn't seem to be anything growing. The deer would have gotten anything they had planted without adequate fences.

Sam came out on the porch nearly in tears and Carol had grabbed her bag and went in with him. Daryl stayed outside and looked at the fencing around the house. It had been started and never finished. He saw that the windows had been boarded up. It looked as if they had made no preparations to fight off walkers and there were walkers around here.

Carol was dealing with the squalor and filth of a house occupied by children. Ana was clearly in labor now and from the looks of everything it was a full term pregnancy. Carol put Sam to boiling water and started praying that Heather got here. She stripped the bed and put Ana down on the sterile cloth that was used in home deliveries. As soon as the water got hot enough she washed Ana as thoroughly as she could.

Ana seemed healthy enough to deliver. She and Sam had been in some sort of refugee camp until it closed and then they had come here. She had had an abortion at 15 and her parents had put her on birth control at that time. She admitted that she had gotten "careless" at the camp and gotten pregnant. The officials there had given her prenatal vitamins and health care but had not agreed to the abortion she had wanted.

Heather never showed up but Christie and Merle did. Morgan had went over to the Relocation Center to get the scoop on Sam and Ada. They had grown up in wealthy Fairfax County in old Virginia just out of Washington D.C. They had been friends since childhood and both sets of parents were very important in the government. Their refugee camp had been more like a resort and they weren't adjusting well to the real world. Their "foster" family had worked with them for six weeks but had thrown their hands up in despair. Sam and Ana were friendly, personable but they never followed through with anything if it took real effort.

Christie and Carol played good doc and bad doc with Ana. Carol got bad cop. "This baby is coming and you just have to stop screaming and whining and push through this." Carol was finding it easier and easier to be bad cop to Ana. There was not one indication that they had done anything to get ready for this baby. The place was filthy and Ana screaming for drugs wasn't helping. This was home

Daryl and Merle patrolled the unfenced yard. Merle spit on the ground, "So this asshole didn't keep the deer out of his garden or walkers out of his damn yard."

Daryl nodded, "It looks that way and by the way she is screaming any walker lurking along that river bank might come strolling by. I am glad that you're here, Merle. Shit, Sam wouldn't be no help."

Sam was sitting on the porch swing and looking concerned. Daryl and Merle looked at him and spit in unison. "He's as worthless as tits on a boar. Everything handed to him his whole life and Mommy and Daddy fought every battle for him. He ain't gonna make it you know and that little girl in there having a baby is just like him. That baby ain't gonna make it with them. It'll just be a play toy to them." Merle spit again.

Daryl thought back over his shitty life, the only good thing that had come from his childhood had been the skills to survive in this world. He had taught Carol those skills those long months on the road. They were teaching them to Lizzie and Mika because they loved them. Love that left you helpless wasn't love; it was a death sentence now. Daryl sighed and he and Merle joined Sam on the porch but sat so they could watch their surroundings.

Christie watched Carol. She had managed to get Ana focused on getting this baby out. Christie had watched her work at the clinic and had been impressed by how quickly Carol learned skills. Carol had set a dislocated shoulder one day as confidently as any doctor. She had kept Hershel alive after Rick had amputated part of his leg. Carol didn't get rattled when something went wrong; she just kept her head and did what had to be done.

Christie had told Heather to finish with her patients and that she would oversee this delivery. She had looked at the file that Morgan had brought back; Ana had expressed a desire on her relocation papers to give her child up for adoption. Christie was hoping that these two would want their baby enough to grow up once they saw it.

The baby was coming and Christie went out to get Sam. Daryl came in with him which surprised Christie but then she saw that he was here to see Carol deliver her first baby. Daryl was fascinated by how concentrated Carol was on the job. He was standing where he could watch her face but as the baby began to push out he found himself moving closer. The baby wasn't all that pretty to look as he pushed out, but Carol's gloved hands had caught him confidently and Daryl realized that the first person to touch him was Carol. She was bringing him from the darkness of the womb into the light of this world.

Carol laid the boy baby onto Ana. There was some stuff going on that Daryl didn't fully understand but he heard Carol say to Sam "Do you want to cut the cord?"

Sam had backed farther away from the birth bed, "No, I don't want to do that".

Daryl had found himself closer to Carol, "Can I do it?" He didn't know why, but it just felt like some man ought to welcome this boy into the world. He might never have another chance to do this for a baby.

Carol had glanced at him and smiled. She handed him the scissors and pointed to the place when he should cut and Daryl took the scissors from her and looked down at the messy looking creature and smiled. He cut the cord confidently.

Christie took the baby and cleaned it up. Daryl followed her to the table where she cleaned him up. He looked a lot better with the bloody goop off of him. Christie wrapped the baby up and handed him to Daryl. She should have taken the baby to his mother but this just felt right.

Daryl carried the baby back to his mother. Ana looked at her son; he looked like every baby she had ever seen in her life. He looked like a lot of work and she just wanted to go to sleep and let this be over. She didn't hate the baby but she knew that she and Sam weren't ready to be parents. They had agreed to give it away and she called Sam over to see the baby.

Sam thought the baby was cute, but he hoped these people would take it with them. He and Ana had a lifetime of neglected pets, unfinished school projects, and just generally screwing up everything they started. He knew that this baby was just one more fuckup waiting to happen.

It was morning before they left the house beside the river. Christie had come prepared. She had taken the time to pack everything needed for a newborn. Formula, diapers, bottles, clothing and everything she could find. Merle had moved it from their truck to Daryl's and Carol was carrying the baby when they left. Sam and Ana seemed happy that the silver haired woman and her man were going to take care of their baby. Sam was standing on the porch of the house with incomplete fences as they pulled out. He was smiling and waving happily.

Merle said to Christie, "They are goners, but at least the baby is going to be alright".

Christie nodded, "I'll ask relocation to move them into town. There might be someplace they could live more safely, but I don't think they will ever grow up".

Daryl drove very carefully. They didn't have a car seat and Carol was holding the baby. "We can't keep every baby that you deliver, you know".

Carol laughed, "Well, let's just keep the first one as a souvenir. Isn't he beautiful? How could they just give this baby away?" Carol kissed the baby's fingers and Daryl smiled. "I like my job, Daryl."

Daryl said, "Beth will help us with the baby. The girls and I will be part of this. I don't want our children to grow up like those two back there. What do you want to name him?"

"Let's take a little while to name him. I am glad that I have four days off to get things organized. It's going to be a shock to Lizzie and Mika too. They are just getting adjusted to life here". Carol was tired but she couldn't wait to get home and show everyone the baby.

Carol and Daryl pulled off the main road and Daryl stopped the truck. Carol looked up from the baby. "Is there something wrong?"

Daryl said, "No, there is something right. I ain't all that good at expressing myself with words, but I gotta tell you how proud I was of you last night. I don't want you to quit your job because this world needs more of people like you. You brought this baby into this world by yourself but everything else from now on is with me. Lizzie and Mika are my daughters and this baby will be our son. I got your back, Carol, every inch of the way".

Carol wiped her eyes, "I knew that when I let you crawl into my bunk at the prison. I love you, Daryl. Let's get our son home so he can meet his sisters, his aunts, his uncles, and his cousins. "

The sun was casting sideways glances at their hilltop home when they drove in. Mist was rising from the hills and ever thing that was green seemed to sparkle with dew and the world seemed to welcome another life into its glorious light.

AN.

Lizzie will always love her little brother and she is not at all ever going to be a danger. I also thought that Sam and Ana were a little too lightweight to survive anywhere. I don't have a name yet, but you are welcome to send me your ideas.

Please review.


	26. Fourth of July

Fourth of July

Carol handed Michonne a glass of the homemade ginger ale that the sisters had brought over the night before. Michonne would have drank motor oil if it would ease the nausea from morning sickness. She had had morning sickness when she was pregnant with Anthony but never had been as sick as she was now. "Shit, why didn't I just go out into the cabbage patch and find a baby the way you did or latch on to one that lived in my house like Andrea?"

Carol smiled, "Drink your ginger ale and then you can take a shower while Andrea and I work on food for the party tonight." Carol wiped Michonne's face with a wet wash cloth. Michonne was the world's worst patient and Carol made a mental note to not be the one on call when Michonne went into labor.

Carol went back downstairs and helped Andrea make a huge bowl of potato salad. There was to be a party tonight at Coulter Farm to celebrate the wedding of Beth and Caleb. The wedding was being held at a church nearby and then the reception was a pig roast-barbecue picnic. Daryl and Merle were in charge of the pig and Jesse was grilling vegetables and a few wayward chickens who had gotten lax in the laying department. Christie and Sasha were cooking together and there should be enough food to go around.

The sisters were making the wedding cake and the tables and chairs were already in their yards. Years ago someone in the family had invested heavily in light weight tables and chairs. Carol suspected that these had been used for family celebrations, but no one asked. The sisters had all married and had children who had had children but none were here now. Cathy, Mary, and Jane had adopted them as their children in the same way she and Daryl had their daughters and new son. In the end, you had to find a way to go on and the heart is an expandable organ. Cathy had hugged Michonne last night when they brought over the ginger ale and Michonne had hugged back.

They were just finishing the potato salad when there was a wail from the living room. The babies had been sleeping in the play pen in the living room and one or both were waking up from their nap. They both went into the living room to check and found that Judith was awake and demanding to be changed, fed, and given some attention. Andrea picked her up and soothed her. She and Carol exchanged grins; Judith had a lot of Lori in her.

Colter Dale Dixon was now wide awake and Carol picked up her baby boy. Daryl had chosen Colter as the first name because the Coulter Farm represented all that was good in this world. Dale had been chosen because Dale Horvath had been a man of integrity. Daryl wanted his boy to grow up to be worthy of his name. Daryl had learned to change diapers and feed Colter and the girls adored the baby in their own way. Mika cooed and petted and Lizzie fretted. Lizzie was protective of him. She worried that he was too small or slept too much. Carol had assured her that he was fine but he was just very young. Carol picked him up and cuddled him. She and Andrea could cook a little later; right now Colter needed his mommy or mommy needed Colter.

All the work was finished in time and at five o'clock they met as a group and walked the bride and groom to the wedding. Carol wore a simple blue dress and sandals and Daryl was wearing blue jeans and a blue dress shirt. Colter and Judith stayed at the main house with the sisters and Warren. The walk was less than a half mile because the church was on the hill. Merle and Christie had driven Hershel over earlier.

The wedding ceremony was simple and Beth made a sweet bride and Caleb a handsome groom. They both looked very young and very happy. The walk back was jubilant but Carol noticed that Daryl did not let his guard down. She understood that; staying alive even here meant that you were prepared for the worst at all times.

Everybody went back to their house and changed their clothes for the party. Then they gathered back at the main house and toasted the bride and groom with punch from one of two bowls. There was a virgin punch and then there was as Mary had put it "a punch worthy of the name". Carol sipped a small glass of that punch and soon switched back to the other. The sisters were full of suprises.

Morgan was staying here this week. Merle had insisted that he was suffering from "empty nest syndrome" and needed her there to get him through the wedding. Christie loved Morgan and everyone knew that Morgan was not going back to the "orphanage". Morgan was dancing with a soldier from the local barracks who had been hanging around the clinic from time to time.

Andrea was being courted by two officers from the local barracks and both were in attendance. Michonne and Carol snickered about "Miss Scarlett and her beaus". Andrea was always going to attract male attention. "Andrea is just playing with them. They see this beautiful woman and they think she's available, but you know that nothing they can do will make her change her mind." Michonne was glad to see Andrea get her flirt on though, she had been way too well behaved since they had rescued her from Woodbury.

Carol watched Andrea flirt and tease with the men and had to agree. "She loves Rick, you know that. She is just marking time with those two until Rick works through his grief over Lori. Rick loved Lori but he can be judgmental and dismissive. They ran out of time to make it right. He is doing better and let's face it. He doesn't like to see Andrea with other men. He's jealous right now. Rick was holding Judith and was watching Andrea with a slight frown on this face.

Jesse came over and took off his apron. "Which one of you hot babes is going to dance with me?"

Michonne smiled at him, "Better be me. Baby Alston is settling down and I want to dance".

Jesse took her by the hand and they went off to the dance floor. Daryl finished with his job slicing up the pork and he sat down beside Carol and ate his dinner. Colter was asleep in his carrier beside her. "Would you like to dance, my sweet Carol?" Daryl asked. Carol looked at him, "Exactly how much punch have you had?"

Daryl grinned, "Maybe I am one glass over the line, but I can dance and I know that you want to. So let's get up and show these kids how it is done".

The sisters and Hershel were sitting together nearby and they agreed to watch Colter while they danced. A slow song came on and Daryl led to an empty spot on the dance floor and they whirled away. "Who taught you do dance?" Carol demanded, suddenly jealous of the woman who had shown Daryl how to lead so well.

Daryl laughed, "It was Merle. He said that since I couldn't talk worth shit to women that I had better know how to dance. The Book of Merle, chapter 10: verse one. _Women think men who can dance are good in bed. Being a good dancer gets you laid. Be a good dancer_."

Carol smiled, "Merle was right in your case anyway. You are a good dancer."

Daryl hugged her closer, "I have been practicing this week with Christie and Morgan. They have kicked me into shape, especially Morgan. She doesn't take any prisoners. She is the daughter that Merle never had. She called me Derlinda and made me learn the Electric Slide. I am a little afraid of her".

Carol laughed, "Me, too. Christie just shakes her head at her and goes on about her day. Christie accepts that mean snarkiness in Merle and Morgan and doesn't try to change them. I guess that is love".

Andrea danced with her officers and then sat down with Michonne and Carol for a while. "Are John and Ashley ever going to dance?" Andrea was tired of watching those two circle around each other. Mary had told her that they had been at odds since kindergarten. "Competing in every academic event in school in the hopes of beating the other. She lost her husband and she lost his wife when this all happened. If they aren't going to get this started, then I am".

Andrea flounced off to John who was talking to Warren and asked him to dance. He looked startled but agreed. Carol noticed that he could dance well enough but he could use a lesson or two from Daryl or Merle. Andrea was smiling at him and talking throughout their dance.

She came back to Carol and Michonne, "Well, I did my part for true love."

Michonne said, "It looked like you were doing your part to hit on yet another man at this party."

Andrea smiled like the Cheshire Cat, "Little that you know, I told John that Capt. Andrews was crushing on Ashley and he wanted to know if they were an item. If they weren't then, he was going to ask her to dance."

Carol watched John. He kept glancing at Ashley who had danced with her father, her brother, and Merle. Ashley had been busy getting this party together and had been the model hostess. She had sat down to eat with the sisters and was now laughing and drinking punch. Finally, John stood up and took a deep breath and moved toward Ashley. He must have asked her to dance because she smiled and stood up moved toward the dance floor with him. Carol noticed that John was a much better dancer with Ashley than he had been with Andrea.

Andrea chortled, "And that my sisters is how it is done. They have grieved long enough and they make a damn good team".

Carol gave her a high five, "You are that good. I will never doubt you again."

Michonne groaned, "Don't encourage her. So Scarlett, are you going to go back and play with your toy soldiers?"

Andrea smiled, "No, I am going to find Rick and we're going to dance one dance. Maybe I'll dance with him twice at your wedding. Maybe I will dance with him three times at Carol's wedding, but I will dance with him all night at our wedding".

Andrea flounced off and dragged Rick from whatever he was doing for one dance. Rick made a pretense that he didn't want to dance because of Judith but Jane had picked up Judith and Rick let Andrea lead him to the floor. He was smiling a little and Andrea was laughing and Carol felt happy for the both of them, but also like she would like to dance some more. Carol and Michonne stood up and Daryl saw Carol look at him and held out his hand. Jesse saw Michonne walk toward the dance floor and met her there. Merle and Christie joined them. Karen and Tyreese and Sasha and her soldier and every couple in the group all joined in. The place was filled with people dancing and enjoying being with someone they loved.

Later, when it was almost dark they all gathered in the open field beside the house. Beth and Caleb lit the huge bonfire and they all stood around its blazing light for a bit and then moved into the darkness and waited. One by one the hilltop farms of Tiskewah lit their bonfires for the Fourth of July. Daryl was holding Colter and Carol was holding the hands of Lizzie and Mika. Those lights represented other farms and families that were working to survive the harshest plague that mankind has ever known.

Warren would point to each beacon and say, "That's Shannon, and that's Pilot Knob, and that is McLaughlin mountain right there. There were bonfires in every direction.

The bride and groom left for their house and the party began to disperse. Glenn and Dylan had first watch and they were going to watch over the bonfire. Daryl and Merle walked the farm with Warren before going home. They checked barns, gates, and storage places. "I am glad that you all came to live with us. We can't make it without you," Warren had had a glass or two of the punch himself. "You have become part of my family".

Daryl looked at the bonfires shedding their small light into the vast darkness, "No one can make it on their own anymore. Together we can make it."

They finished their tour of the farm and then went back to their own homes. Carol was rocking Colter to sleep when Daryl came in. The house was quiet. He held his hand out and Carol stood up and they danced very slowly to the music their hearts made. Colter settled between them and went fast asleep.

AN

**I hope you like the baby's name. **

**A review please.**


	27. Wednesday Night

**I'm baaaack! I usually try to update fairly often but I am writing another fan fiction (Finding the Way Home) while I am working on this one. The two stories have many of the same characters (Carol, Daryl, Rick, Michonne etc.) but there are two separate time frames, localities, and the primary difference is that Carol and Daryl are not together. The Daryl in this story is a man who listened to Hershel and had the courage to show Carol how much he loved her. The Daryl in my other story is that sorry Season 4-5? Version and Carol is the woman who survived "The Grove". So you can see why these two stories are so very different and it is difficult to switch between them, but I am going to try.**

Never Enough Time

Carol was sandwiched in the truck between Michonne and Andrea. It was Wednesday afternoon and they were on their way home ready to spend the next four days on the hill. She loved the work she was doing at the clinic but she loved her life with her family even more. She knew that the others did too.

Andrea kept an eye on the boxes of food in the back of the truck. Wednesday was payday and they took their pay in food. It was not uncommon for workers to get robbed on the way home on Wednesday so everyone was a little extra cautious on the ride home on Wednesday.

As always they stopped and picked up the children. Michonne would drive the truck home and Carol and Andrea would pick up Colter and Judith. Lizzie and Mika would usually be there waiting. They would walk to their house and carry the food in. The three women would sit down and go through the food and decide how much they would need for the next week. Then the rest was stored in the basement. Now that the gardens were in they ate lots of fresh vegetables and saved more food. It was understood that they would share that food next winter.

Carol went upstairs and put Colter down while she took a quick shower. The clinic had been busy today and she had managed to get thrown up on twice today. Colter had made a funny face when she cuddled him. The girls had held their noses and Andrea and Michonne had suggested that she ride in the bed of the truck but had settled for putting the windows down.

Carol came out wrapped in a towel and found Daryl sitting in the rocker in their room holding Colter. Daryl eyes lit up and he leered at her. "Go back to sleep, Colter. Daddy wants to get some sexy times." Colter had been kicking his feet and waving his arms at Daryl but when he saw Carol he began to fuss. Daryl looked at him sternly, "Damn mamma's boy. "

Carol laughed, "Daddy isn't going to get any sexy times right now anyway. Take him downstairs and get a bottle. I have things to do and you are way down on my list".

Daryl smirked, "I could take him downstairs and Lizzie would give him his bottle?" He got up from the rocker and walked toward Carol and very carefully pulled the towel away from her body.

"You are not that far down the list, but not at the top. Go away before my list gets mixed up." Carol started to get dressed.

Daryl said put Colter down on the bed and kissed Carol slow and deep and then pulled away, "You are always at the top of my list". He took Colter downstairs and Carol finished getting dressed. She took the smelly clothes and took them downstairs to the laundry room. It was warm and dry today and the wind was blowing. She did a load of laundry knowing that she could get them dry before the dew fell.

Daryl was feeding Colter and talking to the girls. "Did you get your school work done today?" Daryl usually took at least one break from farm work during the day to visit with Colter and the girls. Lizzie could be drifty and not finish her work and he checked with the sisters every day to make sure that she wasn't goofing off. Mika nodded and Lizzie looked a little guilty so Carol knew that Lizzie would have extra class work to do. The sisters always sent work for the four days they were home with her.

Colter finished his bottle and gave a manly burp for Daryl. Lizzie and Mika took their school work upstairs and Daryl handed Colter to Carol, "We are cutting wood over on the last farm. I need to get back." She kissed him, "I'll see you for supper and maybe we can walk over and see what you all have gotten done." Daryl nodded and she followed him out on the porch and watched him stride away. The farming life agreed with him. She kept his hair cut short and it was lighter in color from being out in the sun. He was tanned and fit from all the work and it looked good on him. He had given up the dark clothes and wore a faded blue t shirt and khaki work pants most of the time. He turned and waved to them as he crested the hill, "Momma is totally going to hit that tonight," she told Colter who grinned at her.

Andrea had already started supper when she got back in the house. Michonne had brought in the sun tea from the deck and they drank iced tea while they cooked. The men always came home particularly needy on Wednesday night and they always indulged them for some reason. "So we work all day and will spend the next four days trying to catch up on all we need to do, but on Wednesday night we spoil them. Why aren't they spoiling us?" Michonne made a good point.

Andrea had laughed at Michonne, but her face was serious, "Because they worry every minute that we aren't here. They know that if something happens that we are miles away and no real way to communicate with us. They are scared shitless that they will lose us and so on Wednesday night we show them that we love them too."

Andrea and Michonne had went out to check on a settler group this week and been attacked by three men on the way. They had handled it but the men of the group had been pissed because they hadn't come home and taken one or more with them. Jesse and Michonne had had a loud argument that everyone pretended that they weren't listening to and Rick had given Andrea a stern talking to out on the deck.

Michonne shook her head, "You haven't showed Rick the love yet, have you? Are you getting some and didn't tell me the details?"

Andrea said, "You will be the third one to know. Well, maybe Carol will be because my room is above hers. I know that she and Daryl show the love every damn night. Stop blushing Carol; it is way better that it is me than Lizzie and Mika. I just listen to music when you all do your nightly serenade to each other."

Michonne snickered, "How long are you and Rick going to stay apart".

Andrea frowned, "It's the last week of August. It isn't me. Rick is still grieving Lori and it is too soon for Carl to accept a new woman in dad's life".

Carol shrugged her shoulders, "Carl can handle it. He knew that Lori and Rick were distant from one another before she died. Andrea, I don't the old timelines apply anymore. "

Carl and Rick came in the house and waved to them and went downstairs to shower. Carol hung clothes on the line to dry with Lizzie and Mika's help. Rick was holding Judith and leaning on the counter talking to Andrea and Michonne when she got back in the house. Colter was still asleep and Lizzie and Mika set the table for dinner.

There were three bottles of blackberry wine that the sisters wanted used up because they wanted the bottles for this year's batch. They were teaching the girls how to make wine and Carol was hoping that they didn't start brewing their own hooch in the barn. Mary had praised Mika because she always followed directions and it went unspoken that Lizzie thought outside the box and sometimes you couldn't even find the box.

Daryl and Jesse came in and took a shower and they all sat down to eat. Suppertime was their time to talk over the day's events and make plans for the next day. They had been canning fruits and vegetables every spare minute for weeks but the bulk of that was finished. There was another cutting of hay coming up and the potatoes had to be dug.

They finished supper and the men did the dishes. Lizzie and Mika gathered the laundry and they all went to take the evening walk. They were going far enough that everyone gathered a weapon. There were occasional walkers to deal with especially in parts of the farm that had not been reinforced with stronger fences. There was always the threat of raiders and common thieves.

There was nothing particularly new to see, but it was a tranquil way to end a day. The woodpile was growing and they would be moving it closer to the house. The hayfields looked good and the overgrown farms were productive. They were building a new barn over here to store hay in. Then Carol and Daryl took Carl and the girls to ride the horses before dark. Colter was content to travel in a pack that allowed Daryl to carry him and have his arms free. Michonne and Jesse said that they would take Judith back to the house and Andrea and Rick walked over to the other barn on the new part of the farm. He wanted to show her the refurbished barns and everyone knew that they needed to have some privacy. Andrea had not reacted well to Rick's bossing her around. They had been cool to each other ever since.

Andrea was ready for an apology. She knew Rick well enough to know that he was naturally a little bossy and he had been scared and that made it worse. Rick kept glancing at her and she smiled at him to encourage the apology. "I didn't have any right to treat you like a child. I am sorry."

"I will be more careful. Michonne and I survived out in the woods all winter but part of that was probably luck. We learned our lesson." Andrea wished that they could just go somewhere and have makeup sex or get acquainted sex or Wednesday night sex. Being a mature caring adult had its drawbacks.

Rick was proud of the barn. It had stalls downstairs for the cows that they would be raising in a couple of years and the upstairs was a roomy loft to store hay in. Andrea had seen the downstairs before but she felt her mature caring adult side fading rapidly to be replaced by the woman who wanted this man now.

Andrea turned and took the steps upstairs. Rick watched her ass all the way up and knew that he was going for it right now. He was tired of his encounters with Andrea being in his mind and he followed her up the stairs.

It was warm up there but the loft was open and she was standing in front of it. The evening sun right behind her. He came up behind her and took one hand and pushed her hair off her neck and he kissed her on the slightly sweaty nape of her neck. She leaned back against him and his arms went around her. His hands went underneath her shirt and sought her breasts. He kissed her ear and she turned so that they could kiss. The kiss wasn't enough, the touching wasn't enough, and they stripped their clothes off and made a bed of them and the sun lit upon their bodies as Rick thrust into her slowly at first and then more quickly as Andrea called his name. He was able to hold on until she climaxed noisily and then he let go of his last control and released himself inside her. They both rolled on their backs and stared at the barn ceiling while they caught their breaths.

Rick saw that it was getting darker and he knew that they would have to go back soon. He nuzzled her breast and she ran her hands up his back. "Would it be alright if we did it one more time before we went back?" he asked.

Andrea looked at the fading sun, "it's getting late. It will have to be quick".

Rick began to suck her nipple harder. "That's my specialty anyway". He wasn't surprised that he was ready to go again so quickly. Andrea was spectacularly beautiful in this light and he told her so. It was slower than before and he thrust deeper and slower until Andrea begged him to go faster. There was a pump well downstairs and they cleaned themselves up and started back in the twilight. They looked presentable enough except that Andrea was flushed and Rick's hair was a little out of control.

Everyone was on the deck when they got back and Andrea went upstairs to comb her hair and try to look like she had been admiring barn architecture for the last hour or so.

Rick went downstairs and tried to brush down his hair. He knew he would be sneaking up to Andrea's bed tonight. He would have to tell Carl soon, but not tonight.

Carol and Michonne exchanged a knowing look when Andrea came out to the deck. Lizzie, Carl, and Mika were looking for constellations with Jesse. Colter was fighting sleep and Michonne was holding a sleeping Judith. "I'll put her to bed for you". Michonne carried Judith inside and up to Andrea's room.

No one had guard duty tonight so they drank some of the wine. Lizzie and Mika had asked for a taste but they squinched their faces up in a way that Carol liked. Carl drank his small portion but didn't ask for anymore.

Carol sent the girls to bed when she put Colter down. She stayed in their room and talked to them for a while. Finally, she turned off the light and kissed them goodnight. Mika would always kiss her and hug her back and Lizzie had only begun to kiss and hug her back regularly.

Daryl and Jesse were checking out the house. They made sure that they doors were locked and that everything was as it should be. Carol was in bed when Daryl came in. He went into the bathroom and got ready for bed. He came out in just a pair of briefs and she smiled at him "Good news! You have just been selected to participate in a survey".

Daryl pulled off his briefs and looked at his penis. "We don't want to be in any stinking survey".

Carol said, "This is a very important survey that might have far reaching effects on humankind. You owe it to civilization".

Daryl smiled and turned off the light, "Can you do it in the dark?"

Carol said, "I think so".

She took off the nightshirt that she was wearing, "First question. Do you prefer sex in the missionary position or do you prefer your partner is a more assertive role?

Daryl said, "Let's go with the more assertive role". Carol rolled over on top of him and kissed him slow and deep.

"Second question. Do you want to go down first?"

Daryl remembered being on the bus the first night at the prison, "I'll go down first".

Carol smiled, "Even better. Survey is over". Carol loved Wednesday Nights. Their sex life was always good but Wednesday night was always special.

They were both awake when they heard Rick come up the stairs to Andrea's room. Carol kissed Daryl. "How tired are you? 'cause I think we might want to be busy for a little while. "

Daryl said, "Well, let's see. It's Wednesday night and you are all naked and half way ready to another round." He kissed her shoulder and her neck and then just kept going south until he was kissing her slit and he ran his tongue to her clit and rubbed it roughly with his tongue. She moaned and he teased her some more. Then he pushed his penis in and began to move very slowly and Carol moved slowly with him. Daryl murmured in her ear, "Tell me what you want".

Carol said, "This is good". Daryl smiled, "Let's make it better. Good is the enemy of better". He increased his pace a little and put a finger in to keep her clit company. It got even better as it went along and they climaxed very close together. Daryl kissed her and said, "I am going to sleep before you want more sex. You sex maniac, you".

Carol went to sleep hearing the rocking of the bed in Andrea's room.

AN

I won't wait so long until I update. Please review.


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